Fate and a Rose
by CBeta
Summary: COMPLETE! Harry can feel the changes between himself and Draco almost instantly. They both start feeling an attraction to one another that neither can deny, and it lands them in the Hospital Wing. What's going on? SLASH, MPREG.
1. Confessions, Confrontations and Possibil

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg. If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N**:This chapter is un-beta'd, and I'm looking for a beta right now, so drop me a line at if you're interested! I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that.

**Chapter One**

**Confessions, Confrontations and Possibilities**

Harry could feel Draco Malfoy's eyes piercing into the back of his skull. The chill creeping down his spine was common place now, whenever he knew Draco was looking at him. Where hatred used to loom in Draco's eyes, something else, something much more threatening had now materialized, appearing somehow over night. Harry felt the atmosphere change whenever Draco entered the room. Not like it hadn't before, but this was different. Now, there was more of an energy. He got butterflies in his stomach, not only because Draco was pretty much the most _perfect_ thing on the planet, but because this perfect specimen always seemed to be picking him apart from the inside out. His eyes, once cold and calculating, now held an air of something Harry couldn't quite place.

Harry sat on the steps of the entrance to the grand Hogwarts, glaring down at his hands. Ron Weasley sat beside him, and Hermione Granger on the other side. She was pointing out something or other in a book she held in her hands that she deemed important for their upcoming exams, though neither of the teens sitting with her were paying much attention. All of a sudden, Draco had come out the doors of the castle with his goonies in tow, stopping in his tracks to gawp down at Harry. Harry, pretending to ignore Draco, continued to glower down at his hands. He couldn't get his mind off of how Draco always seemed to give him butterflies when he entered a room. Not speaking in literal terms, of course, seeing as how they were all outside.

The sun was shining, and it was a glorious day. Hermione couldn't concentrate in the commons because of those damned Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes products that everyone seemed so keen to buy, so she had insisted they come outside to study, proclaiming that "It's a beautiful day and we shouldn't waste it by sitting here in these gloomy chambers all the time." Which was quickly followed by grumbles from Ron.

"If it's such a "beautiful" day, why do we have to spoil it by studying at all? Harry and I could practice Quidditch and not waste this perfectly splendid day and you could sit and do whatever you bloody well please, if you're so devoted to studying!" Hermione had shot him a scathing glare, a small whine had emitted from Ron, and there had been no further argument.

Harry was cut from his remembrances by the snippy voice compliments of one Draco Malfoy, cutting his friends and himself down with another of his biting remarks. "Hello Mud-blood, Weasel. Has Potty been being a good little pet?"

Ron seemed to be the only one affected by the burning words, as Hermione just pushed her nose deeper into her book, and Harry glared even harder at his hands, biting his tongue to keep from lashing out verbally at Draco. Though calm and collected on the outside, Harry had slowly been worn thin on the inside, and was about fed up with anything Draco had to say. _If he says one more thing, there will be blood shed here today, and it sure as hell isn't going to be mine. _He thought sourly.

Ron whipped about and scowled at Draco. "And what the bloody hell do you mean by that?" He snapped.

A smirk curled the corners of Draco's mouth. "Oh, nothing. Since you and the Mud-blood here have been going at it lately, though, I just thought that it must get to be rather a bother to have Potter around constantly. He spoils your fun, yeah? I'll bet he does. Seems to me that he's more of a pet than a friend. A dog's always loyal to his master, though, isn't he, Potter?"

As the word "dog" left Draco's lips, Harry spun around, leapt to his feet, and was instantly face-to-face with the man he had despised for over a good six years. "Whatever you may think, I want you to understand that I am fed up with your bullshit, and don't plan on taking anymore of it. You may be trying to push me, and incase you haven't noticed, it's starting to work. I'm afraid that if you say one more thing, you may wake up one morning to find that your neck has accidentally been broken while you were sleeping." Harry stated, a fire in his eyes that hadn't been there since the fateful night that Sirius had died. His face, though completely serene besides the fact that his eyes were blazing, was otherwise glowing with a magical light that seemed deadly, and the ferocity with which he said those words nearly scared Malfoy shitless. He had Draco gripped by the front of his robes in seconds when he didn't reply. "Do. You. Hear. Me?" Harry asked, punctuating each word with a small pause to let Draco know that he was completely serious and wouldn't let the matter rest until he got his answer.

Malfoy's lips curled into an almost-smile, as he stared into Harry's eyes. His eyes gleamed with something along the lines of victory, and Harry felt confusion slip over him as he glared into Draco's eyes. A few more moments without response, and Draco was ripped out of Harry's grasp when Ron pummeled him from the side.

"What is your bloody problem, Malfoy? You should just shut the hell up, already, you! Harry's got enough of a problem, what with Voldemort and all, and here you come, all up on your high horse. You've always got to make things difficult, don't you?" Ron said, slamming Malfoy's head into the ground slightly to get his point across. With a final heated glare, Ron got to his feet and he walked over to stand by Harry again.

Harry looked down at the mess that was now Draco Malfoy and winced. "Jeez, mate. You really did a number on him."

Ron beamed with pride. "Yeah, well…" he trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly. He, Harry and Hermione turned around and walked down the stairs slowly, ignoring the commotion coming from the idiots behind them, who had just currently realized that something was off, and were racing around in a frenzy, trying to figure out how to help Malfoy.

After a few moments of walking aimlessly, Harry spoke again. "So, any idea of where we're headed?" He asked.

"No idea, mate." Ron replied sunnily.

Hermione scoffed at that. "Well, in that case, we'd better go back, because I left my book. And besides, it's getting dark now, and we don't really have time to do much else. Might as well go back to the commons and see if we can calm everybody down. Ron, you'd better be writing a _very_ strong worded letter to your brothers about this! They've got to control some of the things they invent. Do they have any _idea_ of the mischief they've caused because of their stuff?"

"But Hermione," Ron whined. "Those things are already banned. It's not like I can do much else. And the problem isn't that they don't know what they're doing, because they do and you know it. They're inventing these things because they know the amount of trouble that'll be caused, and they know how bloody boring it can get around here. You should stop being such a spoil sport!"

Hermione glared at Ron again, something that she seemed to be doing more and more often lately, and said, "This, coming from a prefect. If you ask _me_, I think _you _ought to have more pride in your title. And part of your duties as a prefect are to confiscate any items that are smuggled in, not to bring in some yourself!" She glared once more before parting ways with the boys in a huff, going back in the direction they had come from to retrieve her book.

Ron sighed in defeat and he and Harry started back towards the doors of Hogwarts. The sun had set a few minutes before, and they walked back to the entrance hall in the dark. "I don't know what's gotten into her." Ron stated as they worked their way up the winding castle steps.

"Well, I've an idea, but you never know these things with Hermione." Harry replied, raking his hands through his hair. "You did a great job on Malfoy, though. Wish things like that'd happen more often. I've got to feel a little sorry for the bloke, though. It's got to be a great blow to the ego."

Ron grinned. "Yup." He said, a little spring becoming visible in his step. "But after everything he's put us through, you've got to admit that it's a mighty great feeling to have brought the git down from his holier-than-thou pedestal. Jut because he's prince of Slytherin doesn't mean he's royalty everywhere else."

Harry said nothing but grinned just the same, and was glad to feel the warmth emitting from the entrance hall of the castle, because the air around him had started to feel a little chilly. "It's starting to get cold out here." He said, eyes looking up at the sky.

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "You would've thought it would be colder than this though, since it's October. Usually it's almost about ready to snow by now, isn't it?" Harry nodded.

"It still feels like summer almost. It's hard to believe Christmas is coming up. I can't wait, though. It should be great to come to your house this year." Harry asked. He had only been to Ron's house the day before school was to start, and not much had been going on. Hermione had gone over-seas to visit Viktor over the summer, and Ron had been feeling a little crummy because of it. Though Hermione had promised that she was just visiting, and that she had absolutely no feeling other than friendship towards Viktor, Ron still insisted that she was sneaking around behind his back, and got very up-tight whenever Viktor was brought into the conversation at all.

Ron shrugged noncommittally and stuffed his hands into his pockets. Harry sighed. "Hey, what's that?" Harry asked, spotting something just ahead of him.

"Looks like a book." Ron replied. "You don't think…" He trailed off.

"What was she reading, Ron? I don't remember! I wasn't paying attention!" Harry said, his voice cracking as worry seeped into it.

Ron looked down at the book wide-eyed. Harry was the one to pick it up. "Quidditch Through the Ages." He read the title out loud, and there was a collective sigh between he and Ron.

"Doesn't seem the kind of book Hermione would be reading, mate." Ron said with relief.

Harry shrugged. "You can never be sure. Of course, Hermione already knows everything there is to know about Quidditch, so there isn't really any reason for her to be reading this book. I mean, even I have this book memorized cover to cover, I'm pretty sure Hermione has read it before."

"Yeah," Ron agreed. "But she isn't really fond of Quidditch like we are." Harry nodded in agreement.

"Then who's do you think it is?"

Just then, Pansy Parkinson came out of the Entrance Hall. "Well Weasel, Potty, I see you've found my book. Would you mind handing it over? Right _now_." Her voice was commanding, but Ron stood defiant.

"And what if we don't?"

Harry rolled his eyes discretely. _All this over a stupid book. Ron has his own, and more than one, back in the tower. Why does he have to fight with her over this one? Do we always have to argue? What happened to inter-house relations? Oh well, leave it up to Ron to decide that we don't need to befriend Slytherins._

"Well, as I'm a Prefect, there are actually many things I could have you do. None of which would be pleasant, mind you."

Ron sneered. "In case you've forgotten, I just so happen to be a Prefect, too. That's a no-go there, Pansy."

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Well, in case _you've_ forgotten, Potty _isn't_ a Prefect, and _he's_ the one holding the book, so…" She trailed off threateningly, and Harry glanced down at his hands, where the book was clutched with a merciless grip.

It appeared to be a very old copy, with the corners torn and tattered. The golden letters on the cover were almost worn off completely, and it was amazing that he had managed to read them at all. Looking back up at Pansy, he opened the cover. Written in perfect penmanship was the name Harry least expected to see on a book that Pansy claimed belonged to her.

_**Draco Malfoy**_

Flipping a few pages, he noted that the book was, indeed, the book the cover claimed it to be. "Sorry about that, Drac-I mean, Pansy." Harry said. He had still been looking down at the page with Draco's name on it, and Harry had forgotten for a moment that it was Pansy standing in front of him with a palm outstretched, waiting for the book to be returned to her. Luckily for him, the only person that seemed to notice his slip-up was Ron, and he didn't say anything. He handed the book over and he and Ron quickly made an exit.

"What was that?" Ron asked once they were in the safety of their Common Room.

"What was what?" Harry replied with his own question as he plopped himself into a chair in front of the fireplace.

"You almost called her Draco." Ron accused.

"Oh, yeah. Well, his name was in the book. I just sort of spaced for a moment, I suppose," Ron seemed to deem this as an acceptable answer, and sat himself down in a seat beside Harry.

"It's almost dinner time." He stated.

"Hmm," Harry replied. "Wonder where Hermione's gotten to."

Ron shrugged. "It's best if she gets it out of her system. I really do wonder what's wrong with her. Maybe she'll be in a better mood when we go down for dinner."

**XXX**

No such luck. When Harry and Ron got down to the Great Hall for dinner, Hermione was sitting between Dean and Seamus, and her eyes were blazing. Ron glanced at her for a moment before sitting down across from her. "Uh, hi, Hermione," He said nervously.

Hermione snorted and left the table quickly, with a wounded Ron staring after her like a lost puppy. Meanwhile, Harry had the weirdest sensation that someone was staring at him. Looking up, his eyes met immediately with none other than Draco Malfoy's. Draco's eyes were flashing, and a small smile pulled the corners of his lips up. Harry raised an eyebrow and Malfoy did the same in return. It was Harry who broke eye contact first, and when he looked back up, Malfoy had turned around and seemed to be holding a most hilarious conversation with Blaise, who was hunched over and convulsing in laughter.

"Uh, Ron, could you pass the pumpkin juice?" Harry asked in a distracted voice.

When dinner was finished, Harry and Ron parted ways. Ron stated that he had "Prefect duties" he had to uphold, and quickly ran up the steps ironically leading in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

Harry sighed and decided that it would be best to leave Ron and Hermione alone for at least a few moments. Things had been so strained lately with Hermione acting the way she did, and Ron, though wounded, was also stubborn, and refused to ask Hermione what was wrong, lest it be something about Viktor. Rubbing his eyes, Harry wandered up the stairs and walked around for a few moments, biding his time until he felt it safe to enter the common area.

As he entered the hall to Gryffindor house, he immediately noticed two things; One, he could hear muffled yelling even through the stone wall, which meant something was going on (and the voices sounded suspiciously like those of one Ron Weasley and one Hermione Granger), and Two, the fat lady was no where to be found. Grinning, Harry walked back down the way he had come, and soon he was in the Dungeons, though how he got there he had no clue.

"Hello, Potter." Harry spun around at the voice of Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy," Harry greeted through gritted teeth.

"What brings you to these parts, Potter?" Malfoy asked, a twinkle in his eyes that made Harry immediately uneasy. "And at such a late hour, as well?"

Harry held back the urge to hit Draco, and in as steady a voice as he could manage, he said, "My house's portrait lady has disappeared."

"And what kind of an excuse is that? Has someone slashed her out of her portrait again? I would have thought that you would have been smart enough to give him the password this time, but apparently not."

Harry glared. "The people in the commons are being particularly…loud, tonight. They scared her off."

"Well, this does seem to be quite a strange occurrence. But as Gryffindors are usually loud, it doesn't seem to be quite a negotiable excuse, to me. Perhaps you need a few extra detentions for roaming about the halls after hours."

Harry sighed. "Ron and Hermione are fighting! Okay? Is that alright with you? You wanted to know, after all! Well, there you go! They're fighting, and forgot that I wasn't there yet so that they could have time to be alone together."

Draco seemed to be analyzing Harry's answer. "…Why would they be fighting?"

Harry didn't know whether or not to answer this question. "Well, why do you want to know?"

"Look, Potter, I know you don't trust me, and you have a perfect reason not to, but I want you to know that I'm not like him."

"Like…who?"

"Like my father, you git. I'm not like him. I see no reason to worship some man who's clearly insane. Of course mud-bloods aren't great, but they don't deserve to die. Especially by the hands of a man who thinks he's the best wizard in the whole of Wizarding history."

Harry eyed Draco suspiciously, and Draco sighed. "Look, I'm not marked." Draco said, rolling up his sleeve to prove his point. "And I don't plan on being marked. I'm going to tell you this now, because I want you to know that I'm on your side. This is our seventh year here, and obviously our last, and I want you to know that when we're in battle, I'll have your back. That way you won't try to kill me or anything stupid like that."

Harry grinned. "And how can I be so sure?" He asked, jestfully.

Draco shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to take my word for it, won't you?"

Harry's smile faded slightly as he looked into Draco's eyes. "How do I know you won't _stab _my back?"

Draco rolled his eyes and sighed again. "You have some serious trust issues, don't you?"

"Well, if you were going to be killed by one of the most powerful wizards of all time for clearly no reason, wouldn't you, too?"

"I've already told you that he's not a great wizard, Harry. He's just mad, and along with that comes a great sense of superiority. Of course he's going to think he's great. But he's afraid of Dumbledore, isn't he? That's got to mean something, doesn't it?"

"Are you saying that Dumbledore's not a good wizard?"

Draco snorted. "Hardly. It's just that if Voldemort's such a great wizard, why would he fear a mere headmaster? No, it's because he isn't nearly as good a wizard as he claims. Dumbledore has influence over the Death Eaters, because most of them came here. And most of them trust Dumbledore. They don't trust him nearly as much as they trust Voldemort, but if Voldemort falls yet again, who do you think they're going to turn to? My father won't, but some others…well, they might."

Harry frowned thoughtfully. "Yes," He agreed, partially because he couldn't think of anything else to say, and partially because he didn't know half of what Draco had been saying. Somewhere between the words "I told you…" And "Doesn't it?", Harry had noticed that Draco had very nice lips, and that he wouldn't mind kissing those lips, if given the chance.

"Harry?" Harry jumped in surprise at the voice. It was much closer to him that it had been a few moments before. "Are you okay?"

"Er…uh, yeah, just fine." Harry said, tearing his eyes away from Malfoy's lips and straight into those searing silver eyes. "I was just…thinking."

Draco cocked his head. "About what?"

"Um…nothing important, really. Does…Dumbledore know that you've decided to betray your father?"

Draco looked shocked for a moment at the quick subject change, but took it in stride, none-the-less. "Yes. He's taken me to 12 Grimmuald Place, and he says that after I graduate, I can take up residence there. He says it's actually yours, but he also said that he was sure you wouldn't mind. He said you'd be staying there, too. After we…graduate…that is." Draco's voice trailed off. He noticed that once again Harry was eyeing his lips, and his own eyes were drawn to a pair of lips that belonged to a certain emerald-eyed man. His own tongue raced out to wet his lips, but to no avail. His mouth was as dry as cotton.

Harry noticed the movement and his eyes darted towards the beautiful pink tongue. He was quite disappointed when it disappeared into Draco's mouth again.

Draco took an unexpected step closer, and Harry snapped out of his musings, only to notice that Draco's eyes were fixed intently on his own lips. Harry stiffened. "Uh, Draco?"

"Now, now, Potter. No need to be so tense with me. We both know what we want."

At this, Harry shot him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, don't play bloody stupid with me!" Draco exclaimed. "You know what the bloody hell I mean!" He was slowly stepping towards Harry, his foot falls muffled and barely noticeable. It was as though he were a cat, stalking his prey.

Harry suddenly noticed how extremely hot he was in his robes, and how suddenly close Draco Malfoy was, and his train of thought flew out the window as he stepped away. "N-no," He stuttered. "No I d-don't." But he had a slight clue.

Draco's lips curled up into a smile. "But you do know, Harry." He said. "You know, and you've known since we've arrived here on the train. And you want it just as much, if not more, so don't even try to deny it." He advanced closer, and Harry was forced up against the wall.

"I-I haven't a clue w-what you m-mean." Harry said as sweat started to form on his brow.

Draco's eyes sparkled. "I don't know what you've done to me," He whispered. "But you've got me here now, and I'll give you what you want. Just stop your god damned teasing, already!"

"W-what I want?"

"I've already told you, don't play dumb."

"Wait a minute! I haven't been teasing you." Harry said, as his confusion was clearly written on his face.

"Hmm," Draco hummed, stepping another step closer. They were now mere inches apart. All he had to do was lean a bit closer, and…there.

Harry stiffened again when Draco's lips touched his. At first, he muffled protests, but when Draco's tongue slipped across his lips, he had to give in. His body melted into the grip of Draco as his eyes slid shut, and he couldn't help but feel that this was _right_, this was the way things were supposed to be. And for a moment, he forgot completely about Voldemort, and the fact that they were in a very commonly used hall of the Slytherin house, and that anyone who just decided to walk by at this particular moment would find them in one of the most heavenly embraces Harry had ever felt, no matter how wrong it _should_ have been.

Draco let out another satisfied hum as he pulled away, and Harry found himself leaning out for more, his lips slightly parted and his eyes still closed. Realizing his position, he quickly leaned back against the wall and his eyes popped open. A very dazed looking Draco grinned down at him, and Harry sighed. "What…what was _that_?"

Draco looked at him scornfully. "Even the dimmest of people could figure out that that was a kiss, Potter. Honestly, what's wrong with you?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "I mean, why did you _do_ it?"

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Well…I…I don't know, really. I just…had an urge."

Harry's brow furrowed as he looked at Draco. "An urge? To kiss your worst enemy? Oh yes, what a lovely urge to give in to."

"Oh, give it a rest, Potter. You liked it, and don't you dare say that you didn't. I saw the way your eyes rolled into the back of your head! Just admit it. That was the best kiss you've ever received. And you _know_ you wanted it, too!"

Harry muffled a laugh. "Oh, yes. By the way, I'm gay and would love it if you'd be my secret lover."

Draco paled considerably. "You can't be serious."

Harry burst out laughing. "Of _course_ I'm not serious, you git! You should see your face. Oh, priceless." Another fit of giggles overtook Harry, and suddenly he found it hard to stand, so he slid down the wall, his body shaking sporadically in silent laughter.

Draco cocked a brow at him. "Well," He stated, somewhat to get his dignity back. "_I'm_ gay."

Harry choked on one of his laughs. Suddenly it wasn't quite so funny anymore, and he was having troubles with breathing. Draco rolled his eyes and thumped him on the back. When Harry finally got his breathing under control, he asked in a shaky whisper, "W-_what _did you say?"

"I said I'm gay," Draco stated, as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh, wait till Ron finds out. He'll have a field day. That's ten galleons down the drain," Harry mumbled to himself. Draco looked shocked.

"I would have thought that out of the both of you, you would have been the one to cotton on," Draco said, surprised.

"Cotton on to what, the fact that you like other guys? I think that's hardly an important factor to know about your worst enemy."

"I wish you would stop saying that. We're not enemies."

"What else would we be? You're the son of a Death Eater, and I'm destined to kill or be killed by Voldemort because neither of us can live while the other does!" Gasping, he clamped his hand over his mouth. _Damn you!_ he berated himself internally. _You can't even tell your best friends what the damn prophesy said, even though Dumbledore told you to, but you can tell your worst enemy in a heart beat! Wonderful, just grand! _

Draco raised an eyebrow. "I thought we have just established that I'm on your side and that being the son of a Death Eater does not matter to me. I…What?"

"I just…nothing. You wouldn't understand." Harry replied, standing and dusting himself off.

"Well…this is getting awkward." Draco pointed out the obvious, and Harry glared at him.

"No, I enjoy being snogged unexpectedly by someone who I hate and then revealing something I couldn't even tell my friends. I really do. Thanks a bunch, Draco. We should really do this more often."

A hurt look came into Draco's eyes. "You hate me, huh? Well, I don't really know what I was thinking to begin with. I mean, how could this ever work, right?" With that, he turned on his heal and left, leaving a stunned Harry in his wake.

**XXX**

Draco was angry at himself. _I shouldn't have done that. I was reading his signals all wrong. He'll never forgive me now. Damn it! Why do I always have to ruin everything? _

Turning a sharp corner, he almost ran smack into none other than Pansy Parkinson. "Hiya, Draco!"

"Uh, hi Pansy. I'm sort of-"

"Thanks for letting me borrow your book. But that dumb Potty had to go and soil it by touching it." She pouted slightly as she handed it back. "I'm sorry."

"Uh, yeah. Well, it was no problem." Draco said distractedly.

"Are you okay, Draco? You seem a little…different."

"Yes, I'm fine. Just…tired, is all. I think I'm going to go to bed now. Thanks for giving the book back. Now I'll have something to read in McGonagall's tomorrow. Her class is awfully boring." He said, though they both knew that Draco liked her class second only to Snape's, and that he always paid very close attention to the details.

"Yeah," she agreed, slightly miffed. "She and her stupid Gryffindors."

Draco nodded absentmindedly and walked away. _Maybe he'll be there tomorrow. _Draco thought to himself. Then, _No, of course he'll be there. He's always there. Maybe I'll have a chance to apologize. And maybe we can snog a little bit more. And maybe… _A grin came to his lips as he thought of all the possibilities.

To be continued...

**XXXXXXiXXXXXX**

**A/N: **I love reviews, so when you get the chance, please do so! Also, constructive criticism is much appreciated! I work hard on my fics, and any chance I can get to improve them I'll take.


	2. Kissing and Detention

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg. If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N**: This chapter is un-beta'd, and I'm looking for a beta right now, so drop me a line at if you're interested! I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that.

**Chapter Two**

**Kissing and Detention**

The next morning, Draco woke from a very weird dream, which included he and Harry falling from the uppermost tower of Hogwarts after proclaiming their love for one another. He had an extreme headache, and was in no mood to do anything. Luckily for him he had a free hour first, so he decided to skip breakfast. When he finally decided to get out of bed, the very first thing he noticed was the black eye.

_This wasn't there last night. Damn it!_ Sighing angrily, he rubbed a healing lotion on it and left the bathroom. He pulled on a blue shirt and a pair of black slacks underneath his school robes, and left the commons, heading towards the library.

_Might as well get some studying done. Father would be most displeased to find that I've been slipping in my grades this semester. Damn that Potter. He must have put a jinx on me. This has to be some type of curse._

Suddenly, Draco found himself in the Restricted Section, with a book about making love potions clutched in his hands. _I really must pay more attention to what I do. How many times has this happened?_

Shrugging to himself, he leaned against one of the book shelves and opened the book. Luckily for him, it was one of the few that didn't have a booby trap set somewhere in it, and he read almost the whole way through before finding what he was looking for.

Of course, it was hardly fair to put a love potion in Harry's drink, as Harry obviously felt some mixed emotions for Draco, of which lust was most prominent. But Draco couldn't wait for Harry to act upon those feelings. He never had been a very patient person, after all.

**XXX**

Harry entered the Library without a care in the world. Since the incident with Draco the night before, Harry had been unable to get Draco off of his mind. _He must have slipped me something. He had to of. How else could he get me to be thinking of him constantly? Oh, god, this would be the perfect time for a drink. _Harry swiped at his forehead, which had been hurting since he had gone to bed the night before, and quickly went to the Herbal Remedies Section to look up a pain-killing potion.

And bumped into Draco Malfoy in the process.

"Draco," Harry grumbled from his position on the ground.

"Ah, hello, Potter." Draco said, grinning down at Harry. "Would you like some help up?"

Harry scowled up at Draco, then held his hand out for Draco to grab. Draco obliged, and Harry was on his feet in no time. But he refused to let go of Draco's hand.

It was soft and smooth. So very different from the roughly textured hand of Harry's. Draco's hand was nice and cool, and the exact opposite of Harry's, who's, besides being rough and calloused, was also hot and clammy.

"Draco," Harry repeated, staring straight into Draco's eyes. Draco could define a definite change in Harry's eyes. Though he was a little disgruntled, there was something else in those glittering emerald depths. _Lust! _Draco grinned to himself as he realized the extent of Harry's emotions towards him._ And I didn't even need a potion! _

Before Draco could say another word, his lips were consumed by another set of lips. Though his eyes were still opened, Harry's were closed, and small moans and other sounds of pleasure were emitting from him. Draco grinned against the lips and pushed himself fully into Harry's arms. Their bodies moulded closely together, and Harry's hands flew up to curl in Draco's shimmering locks.

At the sound of a throat clearing, they pulled apart. A flush was evident on Harry's face, but Draco seemed to be rather annoyed. "Look, lady," Draco said, turning around. He had assumed the person clearing their throat behind him had been the Librarian, but he was sadly mistaken. Professor McGonagall stood behind him, her hands on her hips. But she couldn't hide the smile that was clearly written on her lips.

"Boys. How wonderful to see you. I look forward to seeing you both in class next period, but in case you didn't know, it is against Hogwarts rules to show any Public Displays of Affection in any premises of the building, unless it is a short hug, or hand holding. Now, I hope I don't have to remind you again." She said in a stern voice, though her ever-growing smile softened the blow of her words. "Now, Draco, I was quite sure you knew better, because of your being a Prefect. And Harry, I'm quite sure you know the rules as well, don't you? We went over them in first year. Well, apparently we'll have to re-learn them in detention. I expect you to be at my office tonight at seven o'clock sharp. Together." With a wink, Professor McGonagall was off.

Harry looked over at Draco, and Draco leapt into Harry's arms immediately, pulling him into a crushing kiss. After both lost their breath and had to pull away, Draco squeezed Harry's bum and walked away with a grin. "See you in class, Potter." He flung over his shoulder.

**XXX**

"Harry, are you okay?" Ron was becoming rather concerned about Harry. It was lunch time, but instead of eating ravenously, like he normally did, all he did was sit and stare at his food, a dreamy expression on his face. They had just gotten out of Transfigurations, and Harry hadn't been much better then, either.

As if he had suddenly remembered something, Harry glanced up at Hermione, a large smile plastered on his face. He hardly took any notice of Ron, who fell over in surprise when Harry, who had been slumping over his food, all of a sudden sat up with an expression similar to the ones Hermione got when she had finally figured out something that had been eluding her. "I have detention with McGonagall tonight!" He exclaimed.

"And…that's a good thing? Harry, no offence or anything, but I think you're going nutters." Ron said, climbing back into his seat with a glower towards Harry. The noise he had made when he fell to the floor had attracted most of the Great Hall's attention, and an eerie silence had fallen over the room. Ron's face was beet red with embarrassment. Harry's exclamation caused everyone to start chattering again.

Hermione raised a brow at Harry. "Why?" she asked.

"Well…uh…" Harry turned a deep shade of red, one that could rival even Ron's. "You see…er…"

Hermione grinned. "What did you do, Harry?"

Harry turned an even darker shade of red, if that was possible, and started to babble. "Well, I…you see, it….He started it!" He finished, looking down embarrassedly at his hands.

"He?" Hermione looked confused.

"I…uh…" Harry felt another set of eyes on him, from across the room. Taking a deep breath, Harry looked up, and for the second time that week, came eye-to-eye with Malfoy. Draco winked at him and turned away. Harry let out a whimper.

Hermione followed Harry's eyes. "What are you looking at?" She asked, unable to see what was so…desirable, on the other side of the room. That was clearly the look in Harry's eyes. Desire. "Are…are you okay? Maybe we should take you to Madam Promfrey?"

Harry shook his head and tore his eyes from one Draco Malfoy's back. His robe was clinging to his back in just the right places, emphasizing Draco's lithe form, and making Harry yearn to see what was underneath it.

"Oh Merlin, what's wrong with me?" Harry asked himself out loud. His voice was hoarse with lust, and it was only with severe difficulty that he tore his eyes from Draco's body, to where they had trailed after he had already torn them away once.

"Harry, are you sure you're alright, mate?" Ron asked, concern seeping into his voice as he looked over at Hermione, who shrugged at him.

"Yeah, I just…my head hurts a little, that's all."

"Oh, Harry! Is it your scar?" Hermione asked. Harry shook his head and sipped his pumpkin juice.

"It's just been hurting lately." At that, Hermione's eyes got wide.

"Did you tell D-"

"It's just headache, 'Mione. It isn't something to bother Dumbledore with. Everyone gets them."

"Yes, but you're not _everyone_, Harry. You're Harry Potter."

"Yeah, I haven't forgotten, Hermione." Harry said, with a trace of bitterness.

"I didn't mean I like that and you know it! I'm just concerned about your well-being, that's all!"

"Hermione, I'm fine. If something was wrong, you'd be the second one to know."

Hermione shot him a hurt look, while Ron beamed with pride. "And Dumbledore'd be the first. Promise."

Ron shot Harry a glare and Hermione grinned from ear to ear. "That's good, Harry. I'm proud of you."

Harry smirked. "Ron, don't get your drawers in a bunch! You two'd probably be together when I told her anyway! You'd both find out at the same time."

Ron snorted and Hermione's grin faded slightly. Both crossed their arms, and Ron stuck his nose in the air. Hermione glared at Harry before standing and storming out of the Great Hall for the second time that week.

"What did I say?" Harry asked, confused by their actions.

"Well, we've decided to take some time apart," Ron said. His arms were still crossed, but it seemed like he was doing it more for protection than anything else.

"'Time apart!'" Harry exclaimed. "But you were never together to _begin_ with!"

"I know," Ron said sulkily, glaring at Harry.

"What happened?" Harry asked, his voice a little softer, as almost half of the people at the Gryffindor table had heard him and were leaning in to hear what he and Ron were talking about. After all, Harry and Ron always had some of the most interesting conversations.

"I don't know!" Ron said defensively.

"Look, I wasn't saying it was your fault!" Harry said. "I just wanted to know what happened. I heard you guys arguing last night, you know. The fat lady didn't come back to the portrait until two o'clock this morning! She said she had to know it was safe. Meanwhile, I slept in the _hall_! I could have gotten detention, you know."

"But…you _do_ have detention. You just told me and Hermione a few minutes ago!" Ron said, looking more than a little confused.

"Well, yeah…uh…what were you guys arguing over, anyways?"

"Well, she was upset for the way we treated Malfoy yesterday. I told her he was slime and that he started it, but she wouldn't hear any of it. Then she said it was time we took a break because I was way too paranoid about Viktor, and I asked her a break from what, and she stormed off!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "That was it?"

"Yeah!" When Harry raised his other brow, Ron added, "Promise!"

Harry chuckled softly, then stood. "Well, let's go, then." He said. Ron looked at him questioningly.

"To where?"

"To find Hermione, of course. I don't know about you, but I have to talk to her. I don't know if she'll talk to me while you're there, but I've got to try. And if she doesn't, well then, I'll just have to talk to her when you're gone. Do I have any classes alone with her, Ron?"

Ron glared at Harry. "Why don't you just talk to her alone right now? I've got a free hour next, and I don't think the Quiditch Pitch is reserved, so I'm going there to blow off some steam."

Harry nodded understandingly, and they parted ways.

**XXX**

Harry couldn't find Hermione anywhere. He had looked for her in the Gryffindor common rooms, but she hadn't been there. He had even asked Lavender to go into the girls' rooms and check for Hermione, but she wasn't there, either. She wasn't in the Girls' Prefect bathroom, or in the Library.

Sighing, Harry worked his way to his next class, Potions. The only person he shared this class with was Neville, and he was rather thankful that Ron hadn't gotten an owl in that class the year before.

He and Neville met in the corridor that led to the Potions class. As usual, the door to the Potions class was closed, and they had to wait outside the classroom for Professor Snape to allow them in. "What was that about at the table at lunch today?" Neville asked Harry unexpectedly.

"Huh? Oh, you mean Hermione getting mad?"

"No," Neville said thoughtfully. "That happens all the time. I meant, why did Ron fall over?"

"Heh…uh, yeah. That. Well, I just sort of surprised him, that's all."

"You mean by telling him that you have detention tonight? You do know that our team has Quidditch practice tonight, don't you?"

"Oh, shit! I completely forgot."

Just then, another voice cut into their conversation. "Twenty points from Gryffindor. No profanity in the corridors, Mr. Potter." Snape's cold voice echoed in the dungeons, and the small group of Slytherins gathered around the door turned to seer at him.

Harry sighed. "Sorry, Professor."

Snape nodded in acknowledgement. "Do not let it happen again."

Pansy Parkinson took the moment Snape turned around to sweep into his classroom as a chance to smirk at Harry. "So, Potty using potty-mouth, is he?"

Harry's eyes narrowed. "Shut up, Parkinson."

Pansy sneered. "And what are you gonna do about it? You don't have your little Weasel to protect you this time." She said, her eyes glistening with malice.

"Leave him alone, Pansy." Neville cut in. Both boys pushed past Pansy and into the classroom, and were rewarded with another twenty points taken from Gryffindor.

"Violence is prohibited in the classroom as well as outside of the classroom, Potter. Longbottom, you would do well to remember this as well. Now, take your seats, before I'm forced to take even _more_ house points."

Harry and Neville sat beside each other and put their wands away. They had learned a long time ago that wands were never used in this particular potions class.

"Now," Professor Snape started, his dark eyes glinting as he spoke. "Today you will be required to have partners for the potion you will be putting together. I will divide you into your groups. Neville Longbottom and Blaise Zambini. Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter." The rest of Snape's words were drowned out by the look Draco shot Harry when their names were announced. His eyes were dark and they consumed Harry from the core. The way he licked his lips almost sent Harry over the edge, and he had to grasp the corners of his desk to make sure he stayed sitting and didn't topple over.

It wasn't until a few moments later, when Snape had snarled, "10 points from Gryffindor. Potter, pay attention in class. Although I do suppose that it wouldn't do you any good, anyway, as I'm sure Draco will be the only one doing any work to begin with," that Harry realized that he had completely spaced. Draco was now sitting beside him, their cauldron was bubbling, the liquid inside a dark pink colour, and Draco was busy searching for something in his bag.

Harry sighed. "So, what are we doing?" He asked. He decided that if they were going to be partners, they might as well get something done. _I have to be professional. _He reminded himself.

"Well, we're in Potions class. What do you suppose we're doing, Potter?" Draco asked, his voice muffled as his head was still buried deeply inside his bag.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Draco's back. "I _know _what class we're in. What _potion _are we doing?"

Draco shifted in his seat. His head popped out of his bag, but his hands were still rustling around in the papers inside. "Look at the board." He said absent-mindedly.

Harry rubbed his eyes. "What are you looking for?" He asked, looking up at the board. He couldn't read what it said. "Damn it," He muttered to himself. It seemed that his glasses' prescription were no longer strong enough.

"Dragon's tooth," Draco replied.

"And you have one, do you?" Harry asked incredulously.

"Well of course I do. Don't you? It was on our school supply list."

"Oh," Harry said, still rubbing his eyes. "No, I don't have one."

Draco looked over at him. He had stopped digging around in his bag, and had pulled out a yellowish-colored, almost triangle-shaped object, the size of a snitch. "Found it," He said, a look of triumph in his eyes. "And would you stop that?" He asked, slapping Harry's hand away from his eyes. "Here," He said, waving his hand in front of Harry's eyes.

Harry didn't notice anything right away, but a few moments later, he could see almost perfectly; with and without his glasses. "What? What did you do, Malfoy?" Harry asked, bristling.

Draco rolled his eyes. "I fixed them. That's what you wanted, wasn't it?"

"No," Harry said grumpily.

Draco looked over at him skeptically. "No? Why not?"

Harry just shook his head. "Are we almost done here?"

Draco shook his head at Harry and turned back to his cauldron. "Here," He said in a soft voice, almost a whisper, handing the Dragon's tooth to Harry. "Crush it up. This is a potion used for healing. Madam Promfrey is running out of it, and Snape says it will be needed the most for the upcoming war. He's having all of his classes brew it."

"Oh," Harry said, dumbstruck.

The rest of the class flew by. Neither Harry nor Malfoy made any more conversation, and by the end of the class, their potion was a light golden color. It was pulsing slightly, even though no ingredients had been added and it hadn't been touched in the last half-an-hour. It had a beautiful glow about it, and the first time Harry had seen the product of their toil, he had been in awe. Harry and Draco had finished their potion early, and Professor Snape had been particularly pleased with the condition of it. He had added twenty points to Slytherin, and ten to Gryffindor, stating that Harry hadn't helped much, as he had been day dreaming for half of the time.

Though they were both finished, they were made to read up on the properties of the potion and how each item added affected the potion and the person who took it. A ten inch report on why the potion was pink to begin with but golden when finished was due the next time they had Potions.

As they were parting ways, Draco patted Harry's bum lightly. The touch was barely noticeable by anyone else, but burnt Harry down to his core. "See you in detention, Potter." Draco said with a smirk as he walked away.

**XXX**

Harry grinned at Ron, who was struggling with a vine that was inadvertently trying to strangle him. They were in Herbology, and though Hermione had decided to be partners with Dean and Semus instead, Harry and Ron were both having a good laugh. Neville looked at them with a glower. "Can you guys at least take one thing seriously?"

They were supposed to pull the thorns off of the vine. Though it had seemed to be an easy task when they were first told what to do, it was now proving to be much more difficult than they had at first deemed it. The sleeping potion they had poured into the vine's soil was now wearing off, and though some of the affects of the sleeping potion were still there, they were quickly fading. The plant, which had been rather still when they had first started, was now flinging itself about wildly, grasping onto Ron's wrists and not letting go. It had sprouted many small vines, and they had crawled up his arms to his neck, trying to wrap their little tendrils around it.

All of the other people in the class had used a stronger sleeping potion and their plants were still in a vegetative state, but as their plant was one of the smallest, they hadn't used a very strong potion, or very much of it, and it had worn off.

"Ron, don't harm the Vineouslex, but see if you can get it off of you," Professor Sprout had snuck up on them, causing Ron to jump. The Vineouslex tightened around his throat.

"Is it just me, or are the vines getting stronger?" Ron asked with a gulp.

Professor sprout looked him over worriedly. "They've just awoken, but the potion is wearing off. I'm afraid I can't give them more, or they might die. Ronald, leave your wand where it is, it'll only make them angry." She said, grasping his wrist as Ron was reaching into his pocket for his wand. "Now, let's see here. Harry, fetch me some water. Neville, you start petting the vine. Yes, that's it."

Harry pulled out his wand, summoned a bucket and some water, and handed them to Professor Sprout. "Thank you, Harry. Ronald, drink this." She said, handing Ron a steaming goblet full of some unidentifiable red liquid.

Ron's eyes widened. "What is that?" He asked, his voice a mere squeak. "What does it do?"

"Calm down, Ron, and just drink it. It won't harm you, I promise. Harry, pour some of that water into the Vineouslex's soil. I believe they're thirsty."

Harry complied, and in moments, the Vineouslex was no longer clinging to Ron's neck, but instead buried deeply in the moist soil of it's pot, with much slurping.

Harry looked over at Ron. "You okay, mate?"

"Yeah, just-" He was cut off by Hermione, who threw herself at him. The rest of his words were muffled completely by her bushy hair, until he decided not to even try to speak. Harry grinned at Neville, who grinned back.

"You think they'll be fighting again tonight?" Harry whispered to Neville, who still wore his goofy smile.

"Most definitely. But lucky for you, you have detention, so you won't have to hear it. How much do you want to bet the Fat Lady doesn't come back until tomorrow afternoon?"

Harry laughed at that. "Well, in that case, do you think you can open her portrait for me, sometime around eleven? I don't want to get another detention."

"I don't know, they might scare everyone off again. And if they do, how am I supposed to get down there to open it for you? I mean, I don't want to get caught in the cross fire."

"You can borrow my invisibility cloak." Harry said. They were walking up to their dorms as they spoke. Harry still had to change into his Quiditch robes, because even though he had detention, he still had about an hour to practice with the team. Since he was the captain, he wasn't going to let his team down; he'd just have to put someone else in charge. _Not Ron,_ He thought to himself. Though he loved his best friend, whenever Ron was put in charge of any situation, it always went to his head, and he ended up bossing everyone around. _Ginny will be the best, I think._

"What are you thinking about?" Neville asked.

"Who I'm going to put in charge while I'm in detention," Harry replied thoughtfully.

"Not Ron then, huh?"

"No,"

"Ginny?"

"How'd you know?"

"Who else would you trust?" Neville asked.

"That's true," Harry said, staring at Neville in contemplation.

"Well, see ya, Harry." Neville said, working his way up to the castle and leaving Harry by the Gryffindor locker rooms.

"Yeah," Harry agreed quietly, watching Neville's retreating form. It was already dark, and all that Harry could see was his shadow, but Harry still kept watch until he could no longer see Neville.

**XXX**

Harry stood nervously in front of Professor McGonagall's office. Draco still wasn't there, and the Professor had told them to be there together. Harry had a feeling that if it was only him there, the Professor might make his punishment much worse.

Seconds before Professor McGonagall's office door opened, however, Harry felt the presence of none other than the blonde in question. He could never mistake the undeniable urge to leap on him and shag him silly in the middle of the corridor, or the distinct odor of pine and cinnamon that distinctly belonged to Draco alone.

"Hello, Potter," Harry could feel Draco's breath on his ear, and immediately his own breath hitched in his throat.

"Malfoy," Harry greeted in return, though he found it difficult to form words. Draco was in such a close proximity that Harry was sure if he leaned back slightly there would be contact. Though he yearned for that one thing right now, he knew it would be best to just stand there.

"Boys, how nice of you to join me tonight. I was quite sure neither of you would find the time." Professor McGonagall greeted. "Now, if you'll just follow me, we can get started."

Harry and Draco fell into step behind her, and she led them down into the kitchens. "Now, this detention will be particularly special. Some of the house elves have fallen ill. You will help to prepare tonight's dinner." She said with a grin as she tickled the pear to the portrait that led to the kitchens. "No fights," She said with a sly wink, and she walked away.

Harry looked at Draco, and as soon as they were sure the Professor was gone, they leapt onto one another.

To be continued...


	3. Detention Served

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg (but not until later). If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N:** I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that.

**Chapter Three**

**Detention Served**

Harry pulled away, gasping for air. Draco was pressed up against the wall, his chest heaving, cheeks flushed and eyes closed. Harry took a deep, calming breath, and pulled Draco against him again. Though they weren't kissing this time, their embrace was still heated, voicing more desire than words ever could.

Their breathing still heavy, they pulled apart. Harry looked deeply into Draco's eyes, and saw the same emotions reflected back at him. Harry couldn't help but feeling a little scared. Things were moving way too fast, and Harry hadn't even been aware that he was gay. _What's wrong with me?_ He couldn't help but question himself. It was as if Draco had put a curse or something on him.

"Draco," Harry said, still panting for breath. "Draco, hold on."

Draco made a noise in the back of his throat, but still nuzzled into Harry's neck. "Draco, hold _on. _What have you done to me, Draco?"

Draco's head shot up and he looked at Harry disbelievingly. "What have _I _done to _you_!" he asked with a snarl. "How about what have _you _done to _me_! I haven't done _anything_ to _you_!" He said angrily.

Harry glared at Draco. "You don't have to lie, you know." Harry said defensively. "I won't be mad at you or anything. It's just that this is going way too fast, but if it went any slower, I'd probably…I'd…"

"Explode?" Draco finished his sentence for him.

"Well…yeah, that's it. How do you know what I'm feeling if you didn't _do _anything to me?" Harry asked.

"Because, Harry. I feel the same way."

"You couldn't possibly." Harry said, searching Draco's eyes for something that he couldn't find.

"Look, lets just go. We still have detention to serve, you know. And I'm sure McGonagall will be here in a few moments wondering where we are and why dinner's not almost ready." With that, Draco stepped away from Harry with a hurt look in his eyes, and with a disgusted sound at the sight of so many house elves, disappeared into the kitchens.

Harry followed quickly, only to be bombarded by none other than Dobby. "Uh, hullo, Dobby. How are you tonight?"

"Oh, very well, Harry Potter, sir! How can Dobby be of service to Mister Harry Potter tonight, sir?"

"Uh, that's alright, Dobby. I've got detention tonight. I'm supposed to help you cook dinner."

"Oh, so is you who is caught in Library kissing, sir? Harry Potter cannot help Dobby, sir, Dobby is forever indebted to Harry Potter, sir! Harry Potter sit there," at that, Dobby pointed to a stool that was being brought up to Harry. "Dobby cook. Is Mister Harry Potter hungry, sir?"

"Uh, no thanks, Dobby. I just…do you have any Butterbeer?"

"Oh, yes! Dobby fetch Butterbeer for Mister Harry Potter and his friend right away, sir!"

"My friend? Oh, Draco? Yeah…"

"Draco, sir?" Dobby stopped, mid-step. "Harry Potter is caught kissing in Library with young Malfoy descendant, sir?"

"Uh…" Harry's brow furrowed as he looked at Dobby, trying to decide whether or not this news was good.

"Oh, this is most good, Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby exclaimed as though reading Harry's thoughts. "No work for Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy sirs tonight! Is Harry Potter sure Harry Potter is not hungry?"

"Uh, yeah," Harry raked his hands through his hair, trying to decide what Dobby was so excited about. After all, Draco's father had once been Dobby's master, and Dobby had only been set free by Harry's fast thinking when he had slipped a sock into the book that Lucius gave to Dobby. Harry was sure that Draco may have mistreated Dobby just as badly, if not worse, than his father had. "It's a…good thing?"

Dobby looked at Harry scornfully. "Of course Harry Potter kissing is good. Harry Potter _does _have sex life! Winky think Harry Potter a virgin. Harry Potter kissing proves Winky wrong!"

Harry burst out laughing. Draco looked over at him with something akin to a smirk, and tried to hold back his own laughter.

"Uh, right then. Thanks, Dobby."

Dobby beamed and went to fetch the Butterbeers.

"So, are you a virgin, then?"

Harry looked over at Draco and shook his head. "No," He said and laughed even harder at Draco's shocked look. "I lost my virginity in fourth year. Before everything got so…different. You know? Right before the Tri-wizard Tournament started. I think it was pity sex. The girl thought I was going to die, and wanted a shag before I did. I guess so she could say that she shagged the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry beamed and sat on the stool that Dobby had mentioned before.

"And you've let everyone think you're some innocent little prat. Why?"

"It's easier."

Draco smirked. "Yes, I suppose it is, isn't it?"

"Well, you can't really tell me that _you're _a virgin." Harry said, looking at Draco reproachfully.

"No, but I could have sworn that _you _were," Draco responded, sitting on a stool across from Harry.

"Well, yeah, but I didn't really give out any clues that I wasn't, did I?"

"True. But what gives you the notion that I'm _not _a virgin? Surely _I _didn't give out clues that would prove otherwise…did I?"

"You, a virgin? Malfoy, that's almost like saying that the sky isn't blue."

"It isn't."

Harry glared at Draco. "Shut up. It is too."

"No, it's more of a light blue. A sky blue perhaps? It isn't _just _blue, that's for sure."

"Oh, get off it."

"Well, really, what makes you think that I'm not a virgin?"

"Because, you're completely and utterly sexy, you have a body that just screams '_fuck me,'_ and every time you're anywhere close to me all I can think about is jumping your bones! I can't be the only person that you make feel this way."

Draco looked at Harry, his eyes gleaming. The look he shot him was completely predatory and made Harry want to hide inside his own robes. But the lust behind the look seemed to shoot ice into Harry's blood. His first thought was to stay where he was, but Draco immediately threw that reaction out the window as he stood up and started to approach Harry. Harry jumped up from his seat and met Draco half-way, their lips meshing before they even had a chance to process the fact that they were still in the kitchens and that they had an audience.

In the background, Dobby looked at Winky with a smirk. "See? Dobby told Winky Harry Potter is not a virgin."

Winky glared at Dobby and gave him the two Galleons she owed him. "Dobby wins virgin bet. But Winky wins time bet. Harry Potter kiss Draco Malfoy yesterday. Not in two weeks like Dobby say." She held out her palm for Dobby to give her the five Sickles he owed her. Dobby sighed and dug in the pockets of his make-shift tunic to hand her one grimy Sickle and seven grungy Knuts.

"That all Dobby has." Dobby said with a frown.

Winky nodded happily and walked away, leaving Dobby to observe Harry and Draco's make out session.

**XXX **

Minerva McGonagall looked at the mirror with a grin. Instead of her own reflection staring back at her, an image of what was transpiring in the kitchens was displayed to her. Of course, the boys were bound to wonder what was going on, but right now things were going as planned; everything was as it should be. Even though there was no sound to go along with the things that were happening, as the spell she had planted in the kitchens had to be small in order for the boys not to pick up on it, she understood what was going on. Though she knew it was rude to spy on them, and if they found out she was spying on them they would be ultimately livid, she could not force herself to look away from what was going on.

Draco held Harry in one of the most intimate embraces the professor had ever seen. Harry's hands were roaming through Draco's hair, and they were pressed unbelievably close to one another, groping and gripping like animals. They were most definitely passionate, that was for sure.

**XXX**

Harry sighed against Draco's neck as Draco pulled away for a few moments. The hug Draco held him in hadn't loosened at all since they had first begun; if anything, it had tightened. They had been at it for over two hours, and Harry was sure their detention should have been over by now. Even though he didn't want it to end, the next day was Saturday and he had a lot of important things he had to do that required him to be at the top of his ability; which meant he needed sleep, and being in the kitchens was not providing what he needed, no matter how much it provided him with what he _wanted._

Draco gave one last lingering kiss to Harry's neck, then pulled back. His breathing was ragged, but he seemed over-all elated. Grinning at Harry, he turned around and walked deeper into the kitchens; they had only been in the entrance.

Harry followed. "Where are you going?" he asked curiously.

"Oh, nowhere." Draco replied innocently, stepping over a sleeping house elf with a look of repulsion on his face.

Silence soon followed, and Harry glanced around him questioningly. "Draco? Where are you?" Then, Harry felt a push from behind, and landed softly on the ground. "Hey, what was that for?" He griped.

Draco shot him a sly grin before throwing some flour from a nearby shelf at him. "We have to at least _look _like we were working. I don't think McGonagall would be too happy if she knew we were doing the same thing she put us in here to stop us from doing."

"Yes, but she's my head of house, which means she'd have a little mercy on _me_." Harry teased.

"But what fun would it be if we weren't being equally punished?"

"Well, she's not like Snape, so there wouldn't be _much _mercy. I can guarantee you that."

Draco pouted. "How can you guarantee there would be any mercy at all?" He asked.

"Well, I can't. Not really. But one would think-"

"Hello, boys. I see you've done a wonderful job. Everyone thought tonight's dinner was especially delicious. Why is Harry on the floor? Have you been fighting?" She asked, staring down at Harry with a weird look on her face.

"No, Professor," Draco said, putting on an innocent face. Harry nodded his agreement, and Professor McGonagall helped him up.

"Well, whatever you've been doing, you did something right," She said, though she still seemed skeptical about what they had been doing to put Harry in such a position. She had a sneaking suspicion that she had just walked in on something that could have been life-altering, and though she regretted it, she was glad that she had come before they had gone too far. It wasn't time for that, not yet. Though it would be soon, judging on the way the boys had flung themselves at each other after she had left. "Anyway, I expect you boys to eat your dinner and then go straight to your dorms. Tonight will be the only night of detention for you, but if you are caught displaying P.D.A. again, the consequences will be almost…dire." A small smile slipped onto her lips as she turned on her heel and walked away.

Harry shot Draco a look, then helped himself to a large portion of treacle tarts. At the look of utter disgust on Draco's face, Harry smiled and with his mouth full, stated, "Theezer muh favorish." Draco's frown turned into a grimace.

"Were you taught absolutely _no_ manners as a child?"

Harry shrugged and stuffed another into his already full mouth. "'m hungry." He said, licking his lips.

"Yes, but you don't have to act like a starved animal." Draco said. "I think I've completely lost my appetite."

Harry shrugged as if he hadn't a care in the world. "More fer me, then," He said, crumbs spewing out of his mouth as he dug around in a pile of chocolate éclairs, searching for the perfect one.

"Oh, no," Draco said, slapping Harry's hand away from the éclairs. "Those are mine. You can have everything else, but not those."

"But those are muh sec'n favorite!" Harry protested.

"Well, that's just too bad for you, because they just so happen to be _my _first favorite." Draco said as he lifted one to his parted lips.

Harry watched the éclair raise, and licked his lips in a fashion that would have most people throwing themselves at him in mere seconds. Draco just raised an eyebrow and slowly took a bite out of the éclair, savoring the flavour on his tongue before swallowing. Harry let out a whimper as Draco polished off his first éclair, then raised another to his waiting mouth. Harry dropped a treacle tart he had been holding to the floor, and it landed with a sickening _splat_, though Harry was hardly one to notice. Draco shot him a grin, then offered Harry a bite of his éclair as he stepped closer. Harry moaned as it reached his lips, and Draco watched as Harry's eyes closed as he bit into the éclair.

Harry knew it was sort of weird for him to be taking such immense pleasure in such a simple thing, but he had to admit (at least to himself) that this was one of the most erotic things he had ever done, and even with the audience of house elves, he couldn't stop what he did next. (Mostly because he had long ago forgotten that they _did _have an audience.)

One of his hands dropped to Draco's bum. Draco jumped in surprise at the sudden contact, then shuddered as Harry's hard body came into contact with his own. He dropped the éclair as one of Harry's hands pulled his robes up so that the back seat of Draco's pants was exposed, and the other immediately dove between the waistband. He groped Malfoy softly as their lips came together, and Draco moaned at the taste that still remained on Harry's lips. Harry smiled through their kiss, and Draco groaned as he felt their bodies collide in…intimate places.

Harry gasped as Draco clawed at his back. Both were standing in the middle of the room, with no walls near, so Draco decided the best solution to that problem would be to…with a soft _thump,_ he and Harry fell to the floor, with Draco on top. Harry grinned at this new establishment, and immediately pulled Draco tighter against him. Draco made a soft sound in the back of his throat, then pulled away from Harry, needing to feel skin-on-skin contact.

When Harry felt Draco tugging at his robe's fastenings, Harry had to stop and think for a moment. "Draco, wait." Harry said. Draco groaned and pulled away from Harry. "Don't you think-"

"I'm not really thinking right now, Harry." Draco grumped as he reached down to try to unfasten Harry's robes without him noticing. Harry slapped his hands away.

"Hold on, Draco. This is just going a bit fast, that's all." Harry said, taking in a deep, shaky breath.

Draco glowered at him. "Says you," He muttered, reaching down yet again for another unsuccessful attempt of undressing Harry.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco and Draco sighed. "Fine." He said, giving up on his relentless hunt for some skin that _wasn't _on Harry's face.

Harry grinned and brought a finger up to caress Draco's cheek as he spoke. "Look, it's only been two days. Don't you think it's moving a bit fast? I didn't even know I was gay until just a few hours ago."

"Well, maybe you're not gay." Draco said with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked with a confused look on his face.

"Well, maybe you're only attracted to me." Draco reasoned. "And you only need me. Harry, I have this feeling. It's like you complete me. Without you, I don't know what I'd do. It feels like we've been together forever."

Harry's eyebrows furrowed together. "Me too," He admitted. "But we haven't been together at all, Draco, and believe it or not, this does have some emotional affects on me."

"Aw, and you seemed like such an unemotional person." Draco teased.

"I'm serious, Draco. I just think that it's moving too fast. And how is everyone else going to take the news?"

"What news?" Draco asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, uh…"

"That you're gay? Harry, maybe you shouldn't tell anyone until you're completely sure."

Harry shrugged. "That seems like a reasonable thing to do."

"Of course. You'll spoil everything."

"What's that supposed to mean!" Harry asked defensively as he tossed Draco off of his chest and stood up, dusting himself off.

"Harry, since when have you _ever_ been reasonable?" Harry glared at him and Draco chuckled. "I'm just joking."

"I have stuff to do tomorrow. I should get to my dorm."

Draco sighed. "Harry-"

"No, I told Neville I'd be there around eleven. It's almost that now. I've got to go."

"Harry, look," Draco protested, following Harry out of the kitchens and up a floor. "I didn't mean to offend you. It was just a joke."

"I know," Harry said, his face an emotionless mask.

"Harry-"

"G'night, Draco," Harry said as he walked up the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower.

"G'night, Harry," Draco muttered, turning and going down to his own chambers in the dungeons.

**XXX**

Harry sighed as he waited for Neville to open the portrait of the fat lady. Of course, as predicted, the Fat Lady was no where to be found, so Harry had no way of getting into his dorm. And he was rather tired, too.

Neville was about ten minutes late, but despite what he had thought might happen tonight, he heard no sounds coming from inside the Commons to indicate that anyone had been fighting at all.

All of a sudden, Harry felt a cold whoosh of air on the back of his neck and turned around, to see a bodiless Neville's head floating in front of him. "Neville, hey. 'Bout time you opened the-"

"Yeah, sorry about that, Harry. I opened the door about an hour ago to see if the fat lady was still there or not, that way I would know if I had to come and open it for you. They stopped fighting a while ago and went off to the boy's dorms, and to tell you the truth, I was sort of afraid to follow them, in case of what I might hear. Anyways, I came out here in the invisibility cloak, because it was still after hours, even though not by very much, and the portrait swung shut behind me. The fat lady wasn't there." Neville said in just one breath. "Please don't be mad at me, Harry. I didn't know she wasn't gonna be there. They weren't very loud tonight."

Harry laughed. "Oh, well this is just great, Neville," He said.

"I said sorry," Neville said dejectedly.

"Oh, I'm not mad at you, Neville," Harry said, putting a comforting arm around Neville's shoulders. "It's just that it's awfully ironic, don't you think? I bet you Hermione knew you were coming out here, or Ron knew, or something and they didn't want us to come back in. Why they would do something like that is beyond me, but I'll bet you three Knuts they did."

"Harry, are you okay?" Neville asked.

"Why does everyone always ask me that? Of course I'm okay. If I wasn't, I'd tell someone!" Harry proclaimed.

"Well yeah, it's just that you look awfully flushed. And have you been crying?"

Harry glared at Neville defensively. "No," He said, rubbing his nose with the sleeve of his robe.

"Okay," Neville said, and though Harry got the feeling that Neville didn't quite trust that Harry _hadn't_ been crying, he was awfully glad he hadn't pushed the subject, because lately Harry always tended to give in to what other people wanted, and always ended up biting their heads off later. "Well," Neville said, deciding they needed a change of subject. "How are we gonna get back in there?"

"Do you think we can ask Professor McGonagall to let us in? I'm sure that since she's head of house she knows other ways in besides the portrait." Harry said thoughtfully.

"Yes, but she's probably asleep by now. It's nearly one o'clock now."

Harry nodded in agreement. "What about Dumbledore?" Harry asked.

"But he's probably asleep, too," Neville said with a frown.

"Yeah. Well, I suppose we could just wait out here until someone decides to come out."

Neville nodded. "But that might not be for hours. Tomorrow's Saturday, Harry. I hardly think anyone's gonna be up very early, not even Hermione."

Harry groaned. "Oh, why does everything always have to happen at one time?" He asked. "Can't it just happen one thing at a time? Why can't I just be normal?" Neville shot Harry a questioning glance and Harry shook his head. "Never mind. I was just thinking aloud."

"Harry, just do what feels right."

"What do you mean?"

"It appears to me that you're having some relationship problems with someone or other. I don't know what they are, but the best advice anyone's ever given me was to do what feels right, no matter what the costs might be. Follow your heart, Harry," Neville said, sounding much older than his 17 years.

"Er, right. Thanks, I'll remember that." Harry said, giving Neville a strange look. Neville grinned at him and slid down the wall.

"Might as well make ourselves comfortable. It's gonna be a while." He said with a grin.

**XXXXXXiXXXXXX**

**A/N: **Thanks to those who have reviewed so far! I hope that you continue to do so. I'm the type of person that sort of updates sporadically, and I usually get sort of lazy if I don't think people like my fics, so those of you who have reviewed and/or plan on reviewing, thanks a bundle!

You will probably be seeing more updates than usual this week and next, as I'm on Christmas Vacation and don't have to go back to work until January second. After that, I'm sure I'll update often, but not as often as I'd like. I'd like for all of the people reading this fic to know that I still _do _plan on updating, so don't freak out if updates suddenly stop for a couple of days or so, as I'm probably really busy. If I don't update for long periods of time (such as a week or perhaps longer), I'll probably post a long chapter or more than one chapter to make up for it. But, as I've said, you won't have to worry about that for another week or so, so don't!

The next chapter will be posted as soon as I get it typed up!


	4. Soul Mates and Pregnancies

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg (but not until later).If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N:** I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that.

HAPPY (belated) CHRISTMAS, EVERYONE! Sorry for the late post, but it's here now, though! It would have been up earlier, but when I was writing the hospital wing bit, I wasn't really in the best of moods, and I didn't want to spoil it for anyone. Then, when I finally _was _ready to post it, my computer had to go and mess up! Argh, it was pretty frustrating... Anyways, as an extra special (very, very late;**_sorry_**!; ) Christmas gift to you all from me, I have decided to uncover my _plot_! Hehe...I bet you're all thankful for _that_! I'd just like to let everyone know that this _isn't _a PWP, though I may have made it seem like it was in previous chapters. R&R, and don't forget to review!

**Chapter Four**

**Soul Mates and Pregnancies**

Harry cracked his eyes open at the sound of loud laughter, but the bright light in the room blinded him. "Hullo, Harry!" A loud voice shouted in his ear, and Harry winced at the sound.

"Hullo, Ron," Harry replied weekly as he struggled to get up from his uncomfortable position on the floor.

"Why're you out here?" Ron asked.

"Why was the Fat Lady gone last night when I got back from detention last night?"

"Was she really?" Ron asked with surprise.

"Yes, Ron, and I have a feeling it had something to do with you and Hermione fighting."

"Oh, that. You heard us?"

"Not last night, no. Neville told me you guys went up to the boys' dormitory. Of course, I couldn't validate this, as I was _locked out all night, _but I'll give you the benefit of the doubt. And even if you guys _did_ go up to our dorm, I don't even wanna know what happened, if you'd be so kind as to spare me the details."

Ron turned a bright red and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry 'bout that, mate. We sort of forgot about you for a while there. It wasn't 'til this morning that I realized you weren't in bed."

Harry shrugged as he was led up to the room they shared with Neville, whom they had left out in the corridor to sleep, Seamus, and Dean. When he got there, he collapsed on his bed and didn't get up, even when Ron tried to tempt him with chocolate éclairs.

"Had some last night, Ron. I don't think I really want more right now, thanks," He said.

"Really?" Ron asked, an unsure look on his face. "We didn't have any. They were suspiciously missing from the table. What did you have to do for detention?"

Harry smiled, but didn't reply.

"Harry, are you all right?" Ron asked with a frown.

"Yeah," Harry said, rolling onto his back with his hands behind his head. Ron was becoming even more suspicious. Usually whenever someone asked Harry if he was okay, he snapped at them and then wouldn't talk to them for a while afterwards.

"Uh…are you sure?" Ron knew he probably shouldn't push it, especially if Harry was in such a good mood right now, but he was honestly worried that something was wrong with him when he didn't give the expected response.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Ron. "Why wouldn't I be okay?"

Ron shrugged. "It's just…you're different today, that's all."

Harry shrugged and stretched. "Well, what I want to know," He said with a yawn. "Is what you and Hermione keep fighting about. It's not Krum anymore, is it?"

Ron sighed and slumped onto his own bed with a look of defeat. "Well, to tell you the truth, I'm not even sure if that's what we've _really_ been fighting about at all."

Just as Harry was about to speak, Hermione sprang into the room and glared at Ron. "Where have you been?" She asked with a snarl.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked. He looked pretty frightened, but Hermione ignored it.

"You were supposed to meet me in the commons ten minutes ago. I've been sitting there, waiting for you, and you-"

"Uh, hey Hermione!" Harry cut in. It was as though Hermione hadn't seen him at all.

"Hi, Harry." Hermione said, though she didn't look at him. She continued to glare at Ron, who visibly gulped under the intense amount of anger in her searing eyes.

"I…Hermione, I've only been ten minutes." He protested.

"Ron," Hermione said with a frown. "I have something important to tell you."

Ron inhaled deeply, then nodded. "I suppose I had it coming. I'm sorry, Hermione."

"What do you mean?"

"Aren't you breaking up with me?" Ron asked, although he was begging with his eyes for her not to.

Hermione let out a loud laugh, before slumping onto the bed next to Ron. "No," She said with a smile. "It's better than that. But we're still in school. I don't see how we can possibly manage. I don't think they even allow pregnant witches here in Hogwarts. Although since it _is_ our last year here-"

"You…You're _pregnant_?" Ron asked, jumping to his feet to stare down at Hermione. "How? _When_?"

Hermione grinned at Ron. "Well, I've been pregnant for about three weeks, so I think it happened on-"

"Please, spare me details." Harry interrupted with a cringe.

Hermione grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, Harry."

Ron continued to gape down at Hermione, mouth open. "You mean…you're _pregnant_?" Harry smiled and sat up.

"Maybe I should leave you guys alone." He said, reaching for the doorknob.

Ron and Hermione completely ignored him, Ron still staring down at Hermione. Hermione was starting to become slightly worried. "You had to have known something like this would happen, Ron." She said. "We didn't use any protection."

Harry winced and quickly left the room just as Ron was stating something along the lines of "Well, protection doesn't do that much anyway! I didn't think we'd need it!"

When he left the commons, Neville was standing at the portrait of the no-longer-there fat lady, hands buried deeply in his pockets. "Oh, hey Harry. I thought you went down to breakfast in the Great Hall," He greeted. "How'd you get in there?"

"Oh, Ron came out this morning and let me up. You were still asleep. I guess we forgot about you for a while. Sorry about that." Neville nodded and was about to go into their commons before the portrait shut, leaving them stranded again, when Harry placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I wouldn't if I were you," He said as a warning. "Hermione's just announced that she's pregnant to Ron. I have a feeling that no one in Gryffindor wants to be there when Ron finally digests that."

"Why not?"

Harry laughed. "Just trust me," He assured, leading Neville by the arm down to the Great Hall.

Neville sat down on the bench and Harry sat across from him, reaching immediately for the toast and coffee. "Should tell the others?" Neville asked, taking a bite of his own toast.

Harry looked over at Ginny, who was having a rather animated conversation with Dean about the riot that would surely be caused once everyone in potions figured out that she and a couple of friends from Hufflepuff had switched the real cauldrons with fake ones from her brothers' shop, with a dejected-looking Seamus sitting off to one side. Harry made a note of remembering this important fact, before deciding. "They have the right to know," He said with a shrug.

"Hey, Seamus," Neville said, deciding that the safest approach would be to tell Seamus first. It was a commonly known fact that Seamus was, to put it gently, a loud mouth. If Neville told Seamus first, everyone in Gryffindor house, if not the whole school, was bound to know before noon. "Guess what?"

Seamus looked up at Neville with a scowl that told him that he was in a rather sulky mood, and though this was one bit of juicy information, Seamus couldn't have cared less at that moment. "What?" He snapped, biting into a bit of bacon, then throwing it onto his plate in disgust.

Neville looked over at Harry with a smile, then looked back at Seamus. "Well, I just thought you'd like to know that Ron's got Hermione pregnant." He said, beaming.

"He…he _what?_" This came from Ginny, who had stopped all conversation to see what had Seamus' panties in a bunch. "Oh, wait 'til mum finds out. She'll be raving mad, she will."

Seamus raised an eyebrow. "How far along is she?" He asked, finally interested.

Neville shrugged and looked to Harry to fill in the gaps. "Well, she said she was about three weeks," Harry supplied with a shrug.

"She doesn't seem the type to go off and get pregnant, does she? No offence or anything, Ginny, but if anyone was to do it, I would have thought it would be you," Dean said.

"Who's pregnant?" Some second year girl, who's name Harry had never bothered to remember, was sitting about three people down from Seamus and decided that this would be the perfect time to interrupt.

"Hermione," Seamus said, not even noticing who had asked the question because he was more interested in the fact that Ginny, though playfully, had slapped Dean, who was shocked by just exactly how strong she was.

**XXX**

By dinnertime, everyone knew. Girls sitting at the Ravenclaw table kept sneaking glances at Hermione and shaking their heads in disappointment. People over at the Slytherin table were whispering behind their hands and staring blatantly at them, which made it alright for Draco to be shooting the looks he was at Harry (who was sitting next to Hermione) under the disguise of throwing disgusted looks at Hermione. The Gryffindors were the loudest of the houses, some congratulating Ron at having "knocked up" Hermione, which earned withering glares from the afore mentioned girl, and others asking Hermione if she knew the gender yet. The people at Hufflepuff seemed to be the only ones unaffected. It was as though they had expected it.

Harry tried to ignore the heated glances he was receiving from Draco by looking anywhere but at him. He at first tried to look at Hermione and listen to what she and Lavender were on about (something like how much Hermione was going to change over the upcoming months, and how much Hermione had read up about pregnancies. Having been an only child, she hadn't exactly been exposed to this information, but it only figured that she had already read about it and was prepared for almost anything). Then, having failed at that, Harry tried to focus on Ginny, who was talking with Ron about any wedding plans that might suddenly pop up sometime soon.

Ron was looking rather flustered, and seemed to want nothing more than to go to bed, but Hermione was clutching at his arm and every time Ron tried to pull away, whether to get food or to do anything else, she immediately yanked him closer to herself and forced a large grin onto her face, though one would have had to have been rather thick if they hadn't realized it was fake. Harry felt rather sorry for them.

It was a commonly known fact that once a man had a woman pregnant, he was immediately expected to marry her. Since Ron and Hermione were still in school, some of their rights had been restricted, though married students _were _allowed to attend Hogwarts. If the child was born out of wedlock, Ron's family might disown him, as any good, Pureblooded wizards would do (though this probably would not happen to Hermione, as her parents were muggle and held different morals, and Harry didn't think Ron's parents would do that, no matter what was expected of them). Of course they had choices, but if the child was to be born in wedlock, they would have to get married sometime over the holidays. And though Ron's family would be overjoyed, as everyone had expected Ron and Hermione to get married some day anyway, they would probably not have enough money to whip up a (good) wedding as soon as was needed.

Harry sighed as once again, his eyes were drawn to the blonde that was staring at him from across the room. Draco's eyes were scorching with unconcealed lust, which sent little pricks similar to needle stabs all through Harry's body. It was as if Draco was eating him with his eyes, the way they roamed openly over Harry's body. Though the lust in Draco's eyes could have easily been mistaken for hate by someone who had not spent much time with Draco (though Harry could hardly say that he had; a few snog sessions in hallways and the kitchens hardly counted for spending time together), Harry could easily decipher each of Draco's feelings. When this had begun, though, Harry had no clue. And he wasn't quite sure if he liked this new development.

The tingling sensation was growing stronger, and soon Harry was too dizzy to see straight. The tingling that had once been quite a pleasant sensation had now become painful stabs to his flesh, each one stronger and harder than the last. Harry found he was having trouble breathing, and before anyone even noticed that something was wrong, he had collapsed.

**XXX**

Draco blinked to get his vision back to normal. The last thing he remembered was staring at Harry, trying to tell him with his eyes that he wanted to meet somewhere secluded. Now here he was, staring up at a ghostly white-blue ceiling that seemed very familiar. With a groan, he rolled over, and nearly rolled off of the soft bed that he was on, albeit rather uncomfortably positioned.

When he tried to roll over, he could feel something warm and lumpy pressed up against him, which felt very much akin to human flesh; very _toned, attractive, _and most definitely _male_ flesh. With his brow furrowed, he sat up and stared down at a very messy head of black hair which belonged to the body that was snuggled up tightly against him.

"Harry?" Draco tried to ask, but his voice came out as a dry, croaky whisper. Draco couldn't understand what had happened, or why he was here; with _Harry_, no less. Harry shifted at the sound of his voice, and with a moan, clutched Draco tightly to his body before letting out one loud snore. Draco groaned as he was pulled even tighter against Harry, but found that this position was much more comfortable than his usual sleeping arrangements. Laying his head on Harry's shoulder, Draco was soon asleep in minutes.

**XXX**

Harry could feel something hard prodding into his hip. Though he tried to ignore it and go back to sleep, he soon found that he couldn't, and opened his eyes only to stare straight into Draco's own glistening grey pools. It was still slightly dark outside, though the sun was starting to peek over the horizon. Harry was caught up in Draco's eyes, and didn't even notice when Draco leaned closer for a kiss. When Harry's lips were caught off guard he moaned, and in Draco's tongue slipped. Harry closed his eyes as Draco stroked his tongue with his own, and his arms snaked unconsciously around Draco's torso, pulling him closer for better access as he tilted his head slightly to allow Draco's tongue deeper into the velvety depths of his mouth.

Draco's hand trailed down to Harry's hip, and he yanked Harry closer to him, the friction of their bodies through their clothes causing his eyes to flutter. Though both were very turned on, Draco was put off by their positions on the bed. This was quickly changed, however, when Draco flipped onto his back and pulled a very willing Harry on top of him, never breaking their kiss. Harry sighed as he leaned down onto Draco, using his chest for support as he ravished Draco's lips. Draco had thought that he was in charge, but Harry was going to show him.

Reaching his unoccupied hands down to where Draco's shirt ended, Harry yanked until all of the buttons popped off and the shirt was dangling on Draco's arms. With Draco's chest exposed, Harry couldn't resist the temptation to lean down and lavish it with licks and kisses, and he did just that, much to the surprise of Draco.

Just then, the door to the Hospital wing creaked open, and in walked Madam Pomfrey. "Oh, hello, boys." She greeted as she walked over to a table that had multiple potions on it. "Great to see you up and about." She turned her back to them and Harry could hear the clinking sounds of something being stirred. He and Draco shared a look and Harry blushed and pulled away.

"H-hello, Madam Pomfrey." Harry said with a slight stutter.

"'Morning, Harry. How was your sleep?" She asked with her back still turned to them. "Restful, I hope."

"Uh, yeah," Harry said, rubbing the back of his head. "Actually I didn't wake up at all like I usually do."

"Oh, that's great." Madam Pomfrey continued to stir something, but as she turned around, Harry could see that it was a sickly purplish liquid, and she was stirring in a thick yellowish concoction that had the consistency of almost-finished Jell-o. She seemed rather distracted from the almost-conversation she and Harry were holding, and Draco shifted in the bed they were in as he eyeballed the potion Madam Promfrey was holding. "Oh, don't worry about this, Draco," She said as she continued to stir the rather nasty looking potion, which had turned a rather disgusting looking brown color. "It's not for you. It's for Harry."

Harry gulped. "F-for me? Why?"

Madam Pomfrey just grinned at Harry. "No worries, Harry, dear. It won't do you any harm."

Just then, Draco decided to point out something that Harry hadn't noticed. "What's that rancid _smell_?" Harry took a small whiff and choked. It smelled like a mixture of burnt hair and rubber, with the nasty lingering scent of bile.

Madam Pomfrey shot Draco a withering look, then turned to Harry. "Just take it, dear. It's for the best, I promise. You won't even notice the taste."

Harry pulled a face. "What does it do?"

Madam Pomfrey scrunched her face up in a mix between a scowl and a frown. "I can't really tell you, dear. But trust me when I say I would never give you anything that was life-threatening."

Draco snorted. "That smell is life-threatening." He stated with a sneer. "And if I don't get some fresh air," He added as he stood. "I'm going to vomit." With that, he walked out of the Hospital wing, Madam Pomfrey shooting another withering glance at him as he left, but doing nothing to stop him.

Harry blinked down at the potion that Madam Pomfrey had given him. "Why was Draco here?" He asked after a little while.

Madam Pomfrey, who was still glaring daggers at the door where Draco had exited from, said, "He collapsed moments after you did. Dear, something important is going on here, but I can't be the one to tell you what it is. Now, drink up." Madam Pomfrey turned to Harry and patted his shoulder, and when Harry lifted the horrid smelling concoction to his lips, she nodded encouragingly at him and made sure he drank the entire thing. He was almost successful, until the last little bit. He nearly threw up as he felt the slimy substance working its way down his throat, and the aftertaste it left was worse than some of the nasty diet foods his Aunt Petunia had forced him to endure while she tried to make Dudley lose some of his ever-present weight that made him closely resemble a pig.

When he was finished, Harry looked up to see that Madam Pomfrey was no longer standing beside him as he had thought she was. With a great heave, Harry leaned over the bed and was immediately reacquainted with the previous night's dinner. "Ugh," He groaned.

"Oh, very good, it's begun to work. Much sooner than I had thought it would." Madam Pomfrey nodded approvingly. "Now, the nausea should last for a good ten to twelve hours, so be prepared for that. In another few hours you should begin to have a headache, and a massive amount of stomach cramps should follow your bouts of vomiting. You may also experience excessive emotions, ranging from anything between anger and depression. I don't think you'll be feeling happy for another few days, though, my dear. I'm quite sorry."

Harry looked up at her, the hurt of her betrayal glistening in his eyes. "Why did I have to take that if it causes these things?" Harry asked accusingly. "I think I was just fine _before_ you forced that bunch of rot down my throat!"

"Oh, Harry. These things are necessary to purge the soul of any corruptions. The same thing, though in a different form, will be given to Draco."

"Why?" Harry repeated.

"This is a common occurrence, Harry."

"But _why_?" Harry wailed.

"Harry, the soul has to be cleaned in order for it to be a whole once again. If it is not clean, horrid things will happen. You aren't a dark person, but if your soul has _any_ corruptions as it is re-made whole, you will turn _into _a dark person."

"Re-made whole?" Harry asked.

"Yes, Harry. Draco is your soul mate."

**XXX**

"I'm his _what_?" Draco howled at Dumbledore, who had caught him on his way out of the Hospital ward and had asked him to join him in his office for a long over-due chat.

"Soul mate." Dumbledore clarified. "Now, I didn't want to talk to just you about it, but as Harry is receiving his purging right now, I suppose I will have to. You have been experiencing sexual urges, have you not?" At the look of worry on Draco's face, Dumbledore continued. "Have no fear that these urges will not discontinue once your souls are made whole; they will be just as strong, if not stronger, but they will not be as frequent. You have both come of age now. Once every wizard comes of age, their soul immediately begins to look for its other half.

"Now, not very often does the soul find its other half; usually once every five centuries. Most times, the souls remain in halves, and wizards marry with someone of another half of a soul and they have a very happy, though not complete, marriage. Those who are lucky enough to find their other half have always been the strongest of wizards. This is because once the soul is whole, the soul can perform many feats that were unimaginable when they were only halves."

Draco swallowed thickly in a desperate attempt to wet his now dry mouth. "I…I thought those urges were just because he had cast a spell on me." Draco whined.

"Yes, and as it is, he did. Though he didn't do it on purpose; he didn't even do it consciously. You see, _he _may not recognize your soul, but his soul does, and it is trying everything in its power to make sure you are not separated. The only way to assure that is by completing the union, and the only way to do that is to…" Dumbledore trailed off, and with a flush, he stood and raised his wand to his temple to draw out a rather long string of silver and place it in his Pensieve.

Clearing his throat, he continued. "And his soul isn't the only one that has been doing things like this. Your bodies are like magnets for your souls. Once they connect, they are going to be rather hard to pull apart again; I should remind you that I am speaking of your bodies and not your souls. Once a soul has become complete, it will never be broken in half again. It is because of this that you, Draco, as well as Harry, will now be immortal. I am supposing you have not completed your bond with Harry?"

Draco had to stifle his gasp and shook his head violently. "No, sir." He agreed. Thoughts immediately flew through his head of how his father would react to this news, and what kinds of things he would try to put Draco up to once he was out of school, as his father fully expected for him to get marked.

"I see," Dumbledore said as he pulled another thought from his head and placed it in the swirling mass of silver that was inside his Pensieve. "Well, you and Harry are quite vulnerable right now, and will be for a short amount of time once the bond has been completed. Draco," Dumbledore's eyes fell on Draco and Draco shuddered at the seriousness they held. "Once your souls are complete, they will try to make another soul. It is said that a complete soul needs another half to keep it steady; a child. You and Harry are now capable of bearing children. And it is my theory that you will not only conceive one." He chuckled lightly and Draco didn't know whether the odd feeling in his face was a flush or if he was deathly pale.

"Now," Dumbledore said with a quite cheerful edge to his voice that hadn't been there before. "Though I have said that you will be immortal, you are still suspect to serious illnesses and wounds; do not think that you aren't. You cannot die, and Harry cannot die, hence Voldemort will _have_ to die. But you can still suffer. Do not forget this." Draco gulped as Dumbledore's eyes fell upon him once more. "Lemon drop?" he asked, holding a crystal bowl of the yellow sweets out to him.

Draco shook his head fiercely. "I think I'm going to be si-" He was cut off as a large amount of sick spewed from his mouth. Dumbledore cringed as it came, but graciously cleaned it up with a flick of his wand when Draco was finished and offered a breath mint to him once he had gained back control of his breathing, which Draco more than willingly accepted.

**XXX**

"Oh dear," Poppy slapped her hand over her mouth after she told Harry that Draco was his soul mate. "I shouldn't have said that. Albus seemed so keen to tell you. He wanted to tell you and Draco together, and now I've gone and spoiled it all!" She cried.

Harry looked at her curiously. "Soul mates?" He completely ignored the fact that Madam Pomfrey was trying to hold back tears, and she seemed to be much more emotional than she normally was.

"Yes, Harry. But now Albus is sure to be mad at me." With a sigh, Madam Pomfrey walked to her office, but not before muttering,"Damn this pregnancy and my irrational emotions!" Under her breath.

Harry's eyes widened and hegasped. "You...you'repregnant? _What_?"

"Oh!" Madam Pomfrey seemed to be utterly angry. "I should _not _have said that. I'm sorry, Harry, I could have sworn I was thinking that instead of saying it."

"You mean, they allow pregnancy here?"

"Well of course, Harry. Though only for seventh years and professors. You see, we lifted the ban about fifty years ago, when we realized we couldn't really stop them from conceiving no matter how hard we tried, and throwing out a pregnant woman is just not right. They deserve their education as well, and just because they're pregnant is by no means a reason to stop them from getting it."

"Oh, this is great!" Harry shouted, seeming to completely forget about the 'soul mates' thing for a few moments. "You see, Hermione is pregnant!"

"What a shame!" Madam Pomfrey immediately sympathized. "And there were such high hopes for that girl…"

"No!" Harry said. "This is wonderful! Now she won't get expelled. I always knew Ron and Hermione would be together, but she got pregnant, and now they're all worried, and they have absolutely no reason to be!"

Poppy blinked. "Yes, well I suppose you're right." She said with a frown.

"How far are you?" Harry asked conversationally.

"Oh, about a two and a half months." She said. "But don't you go telling anyone. The only person who knows is Albus, and he's agreed to let me work until I can't work anymore. And after she's born,he's going to allow me to bring her to work with me until she's old enough to be coming here herself."

"When did you find out whatgender it was?" He asked, wonderinghow soon Hermione would be able totell,since she had told one of the Hufflepuff girls that she didn't know yet.

"Oh, I knew once she was concieved. There's a difference in each gender's magical signatures when they're babies. The males are a bit stronger than the females, hence the reason they cause more morning sickness. Girls are more active, though. Anyway, once I cast a simple spell to figure out if I was pregnant or not, I also cast another slightly more difficult spell to find out what the gender was. I think I was about two weeks along at that point."

Harry nodded. Then, just as Madam Pomfrey was walking back to her office,Harry looked up at her, a confused look on his face. "You're not married, are you?" Madam Pomfrey turned around, a strange look on her face."You're not wearing a ring." He pointed to her finger.

"Oh, no," She chuckled.

"Well then, who's the father?"

Madam Pomfrey flushed. "Harry, I hardly think you should be asking me these personal questions!" She exclaimed, her hand going to flutter over her heart to signify that she was flustered. "Curiosity killed the cat, after all!"

Harry blinked. "Well, it's got to be one of the professors." He said with a thoughtful look on his face. "Is it Professor Dumbledore?"

"No." Madam Pomfrey said, with a rather put off look on her face. "And I refuse to talk about this any further."

"It can't be Professor Flitwick, can it?" Harry pursued, as Madam Pomfrey turned on her heal and started to retreat to her office.

"No!" She said, and seemed rather hurt that Harry would suspect anything other than friendship between she and the Charms Professor.

"It's not…no, it couldn't be! Is it…Snape?"

At the stiffening of Madam Pomfrey's back, Harry knew he had hit the nail on the head, and cringed as he got a mental image of she and Professor Snape together.

"_Professor _Snape to you, young man."

"Madam Pomfrey, I uh…"

"It's quite all right, Mr. Potter. You need some rest." With that, she stalked out of the room, and Harry cringed. He had a feeling that though she said it was all right, it really wasn't. And something told him that he was in for a long, hard Hospital stay if he and the healer weren't getting on very well.

**XXXXXXiXXXXXX**

**A/N: **I was going to make it longer, but I honestly was way too pooped, and my muses simply _wouldn't _allow it! ;Glares at muses angrily; I would murder them, but if I did things would be much worse than they now are, so I'll restrain myself. Hope you enjoyed this, and the next chapter should be up much sooner than this one was! (Hopefully! Let's hope my computer decides to cooperate ;crosses fingers; )


	5. Phase One: Denial

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg (but not until later). **In this chapter there are (slight) mentions of abortion. These are very relevant to later chapters the fic, and, for future reference, there may be more mentions of it at a later time. The author apologizes for any inconveniences. **If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N:** I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that.

**Chapter Five**

**Phase One: Denial**

The next morning found Draco laying curled up against Harry, who had a leg thrown over Draco's hip possessively and an arm flung over Draco's shoulder. When Draco woke up, he found that he rather liked this new position, but though it made him feel a lot safer than he had in a long while, he also had to use the toilet. If you had walked into the room for at least a half an hour after Draco woke up, you would find Draco struggling to get loose of Harry without waking him. It would have been easier if Draco knew that Harry slept like a log and almost nothing _could_ wake him up, but Draco didn't find out that information until much later.

As it was, it wasn't for another half an hour until he was successful, and that was only after Harry _did _wake up. With a snort, Harry had rolled over and onto the floor, which immediately jarred him awake in time for him to see a blurry outline of Draco running as fast as he could into the bathroom to prevent an accident. Harry raised a brow as he watched Draco slam the bathroom door shut, then he stood and sat back on the bed. Since he couldn't get back to sleep after a few moments of non-productful trying, he put his glasses on and looked around him.

The hospital wing was as it always had been. The only thing that was missing, or rather, _person_ that was missing was Madam Pomfrey, who had promised to be back sometime around lunch, and that a house elf would bring up their breakfast. But something was off, or at least that was what it seemed like to Harry. When they had gone to bed, each had been in their own beds. But Harry could have sworn that Draco had been scurrying from _his_ bed to the bathroom instead of his own.

When Draco came back, Harry was lounging on his bed with a book in his hands, though to be honest, Harry had no idea what it was about, nor what the title of it was. He had been staring idly at the first page for over five minutes, and hadn't read a single word. He had just found it on the bed-side table, and decided that he would rather have his hands occupied. Draco looked suspiciously at Harry, and made his way slowly to his own bed.

"Uh, morning, Potter," He greeted, though he kept his eyes averted guiltily. In the middle of the night he found he couldn't sleep and had crept silently into Harry's bed. Harry had seemed more than welcoming, as he had wrapped his arms warmly around him and held him closely, but when Draco had turned around to look at him, he found that his eyes were closed and he was snoring lightly.

Harry grunted in response, and continued to pretend to be reading the book, though he was actually mulling over thoughts that refused to go away. Dumbledore had pulled him aside a few moments after Madam Pomfrey had swept from the room, Draco re-entering along with him, though Dumbledore insisted he stay behind because he needed to talk to Harry in private, and they had gone over the same things that Harry was sure Draco already knew, because of the weird looks he had been receiving from him.

When he had gone back to their shared room at the back of the infirmary (as no one else resided there, and Madam Pomfrey had told Harry a couple of months ago that this year the injuries seemed to be dwindling and she was glad to have Harry's company, though she would have rather had it under different circumstances as Harry had broken his arm, once again product of a Quidditch game gone awry), Draco had been asleep. Well, it was either that, or he was a great actor. Harry had climbed into his own bed and, after a short spell of sickness and a severe headache, had swiftly fallen asleep, though he was sure that he had woken up sometime in the middle of the night to be met by a warm body (which he could have sworn was a pillow at the time, but was now coming to believe it was actually Draco that had been pressed up against him so intimately).

He was pulled out of his musings by the slightly annoyed voice of Draco. "Are you going to answer me, or are you going to just sit there pretending to read all day?"

Harry jumped at the sudden intrusion, but then realized that Draco had asked him a question, and embarrassingly enough, he didn't have the slightest clue of what it was. He also realized that his head was pounding, and he suspected that Madam Pomfrey would be happy to know that he had vomited at least twice in the preceding night, though both times the sick had vanished before Harry even had a chance to worry about it, and he had fallen asleep even before that, though he was rather ashamed to admit it. Sighing and pulling himself back to the present, Harry asked, "Uh…what was it that you asked?" He flushed slightly as he looked up and his gaze collided with Draco's, who's eyes were blazing in annoyance.

"I asked you what Dumbledore talked to you about last night." Draco said rather huffily, in Harry's honest opinion.

"Oh…um…yeah, that," Harry found that he couldn't really form words. It was as though the last few weeks hadn't happened at all, and he was back to square one with Draco. Draco, who was sitting impatiently across from Harry, on his own bed with his hands on his hips, wasn't making it much easier; not by a long shot.

"Well," Draco asked, a sneer becoming evident in the lilt in his voice. Since Harry had looked away, he couldn't tell what Draco's expression looked like, but the tone of his voice definitely told Harry that he was either sneering or about to sneeze (Harry found Draco's 'sneering' voice very annoying, much like someone's voice when they were about to sneeze, and it was a great inside joke between he and Ron, though it hadn't been used for a while). "Are you going to answer me," He repeated. "Or are you going to continue pretending to read all day?"

Harry glared. "He talked to me about you and me being soul mates!" Harry said angrily. "But I suppose you already knew that, because of the smug looks you kept shooting me once you got back into the room. Are you happy that you were the first to know?" Harry asked expectantly, and Draco looked taken aback.

"Oh, sod off, Potter," He retaliated finally. "It's not like it's something I wanted to happen. Don't look at me like _I'm _the one who initiated it; you know bloody well that your soul started it!"

Harry glared at Draco and retaliated with a resolved, "Did not!"

Which was replied to with a confident, "It most certainly did _too_!"

Harry's brow furrowed into a hard glare and he shouted, "My soul is unpretentious, unlike _yours_, and would never think to touch _your _disgusting soul!"

Draco growled and shot Harry a nasty look. "Unpretentious my _arse_! You're so bloody conceited with your "nobility" and "humbleness" that you can't even see straight! Unpretentious, ha! More like a bloody unprincipled prat, not to mention _daft_! I don't even care what that bleeding git told you about us being soul mates, I find it absolutely hard to believe that we even live in the same part of the universe! And by the way, my soul is much more knowledgeable, and I'll have you know that it won't be swooned by your stupid soul's attempts of seduction!"

"Well, you asked!" Harry insisted, and Draco turned away from him with a huff and picked up the glass of water that was sitting on his own bed-side table, which was then flung immediately, glass and all, at a very startled Harry. "What in the bloody _hell_ was _that_ for!" he cried indignantly as he ducked the glass and it shattered on the stone wall behind his head.

Draco shrugged. "It certainly made me feel better, though," He said with a smug smirk.

Harry glared down at his now sopping book with a forlorn look on his face and frowned. "I was going to read this _eventually_!"

Draco shrugged yet again, and Harry was becoming rather fed up with the way he was dismissing everything. _If that git shrugs one more time…_ Harry found himself thinking threateningly, though he found that he couldn't complete the empty threat, and really meant nothing at all if Draco never heard it anyway.

"Well, I was eventually going to drink that glass of water, but somehow you've figured out a way to make it so neither of us gets what we want. I hope you're happy, though. _I'm _going to start with _my _breakfast, and you can do whatever you want. I can't see why that old bat won't just let us out of here, we're both perfectly capable of handling ourselves…" Draco continued to grumble as he walked over to a small table that had been set up at the other end of the infirmary, complete with coffee, toast, eggs, bacon and other bits of breakfast that both Harry and himself found acceptable for breakfast.

Harry watched grudgingly as Draco tucked a napkin into his lap and began to eat, all the while thinking about how Draco always seemed pristine and proper, and how even when he had gone into the bathroom, not a single hair had been out of place. It actually made him feel rather inadequate, though he would never tell this to Draco, who would probably laugh in his face.

Their first meal together in the hospital wing felt much akin to a first date. There was the awkwardness (mostly on Harry's behalf), and occasionally they bumped knuckles or other parts belonging to their hands as they reached for food. Harry always pulled back as if burned with a hot branding iron, but Draco just lifted a perfect brow and continued as if nothing had happened.

By the conclusion of their meal, Harry was a nervous wreck, and Draco seemed to be the one that left the table unscathed. Everything seemed to roll off of Draco, and though Harry admired this about him, he also loathed the way he was the only one affected by the whole "soul mates" thing. Draco took it in great stride, and seemed to be adjusting quite well. Harry couldn't help but scowl at Draco as he continued to ignore him and pretend that everything was fine.

**XXX**

It was mid-afternoon when Hermione came up to visit. Actually it was not as much of a visit as it was Harry comforting a sobbing Hermione as she struggled to tell him exactly what had her in that position.

"Oh, Harry, it was horrible! And everything's been going so great between us!" Hermione sobbed, covering her blotchy face.

"What?" Harry asked as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Draco looked over the top of a book he had had one of his friends bring up for him so that he could study, and raised an eyebrow at the condition Hermione was in. Hermione just continued to sob onto Harry's shoulder, and Draco felt a wave of possessiveness wash over him as he watched Harry comfort her.

"Ron!" Hermione wailed.

"Ron? Ron what, Hermione? What did he do?"

"He…he…he.." Hermione trailed off to hiccup, which was shortly followed by another bout of screeching wails, each torn from her chest and lips forcibly, leaving her a sobbing mess on Harry's bed by the time she finally settled down again. "He doesn't want it!" Hermione cried out after taking a few deep breaths.

"He…wha'?" Harry was slow on the uptake, and Draco had lost all interest in his book, which was now lying on the floor in a rumpled, undignified sort of way. If Hermione had not been in such a state, she would have quickly reprimanded Draco for mistreatment of books, but as it was, she hardly noticed at all.

"Ron, he says he doesn't think it's his!" Hermione wailed again and stuffed her face into the nook of Harry's neck, continuing to sob. Harry could feel her tears on his throat, and it made him rather uncomfortable, as he had never really been the one to comfort before (usually that was Hermione's job), and he felt that he wasn't doing quite a good enough job of it, as Hermione was a sobbing mess in his arms and he felt helpless to stop it. "And he refuses to take care of a baby that isn't of his own blood!" Hermione crumbled into another heaving bout of sobs, and Harry blinked stupidly. "He…he said I should get rid of it!"

Draco's eyes widened. "You're pregnant?" He asked, standing and rubbing Hermione's back, though rather grudgingly.

Hermione nodded against Harry's chest and Draco felt another possessive wave wash over him, but fought it down.

Hermione took a deep breath and said, "I could never kill my own life, Harry. Never."

Harry nodded dumbly as he watched Hermione lay back on his bed, her hands holding her stomach as though she had been wounded. Draco looked back and forth between them curiously.

"She's already a part of me, you know? Even though I've only been pregnant for a few weeks, I've already grown attached to her." With watering, pleading eyes, she looked up at Harry. "Is that so wrong, Harry?"

Harry's heart contracted painfully at the sight of Hermione, broken and falling apart on his bed, and he wished he had the answer that she needed, but he didn't. His own eyes started to water, but he held his tears in check. "I…I don't know, Hermione. I don't know."

Draco looked scornfully at Hermione, then scoldingly at Harry as he sat on the bed on the other side of Hermione. "Of course there's nothing wrong with that, Granger." He snapped. "It's your child, and it's been growing in you for all this time, and all Weasel can say is that he doesn't think it's his? Just wait, I'll bet she has his hair. Then he'll be all sorry and dreadful until you take him back, which you won't."

Hermione burst into a new bout of sobs, and Draco looked at her with a bewildered look on his face.

It was later that night, after Hermione had gone back to Gryffindor Tower with a promise to visit the next day, that Harry looked over at Draco from his own bed with a glare. "You aren't that great at comforting, you know." He accused, and Draco shot Harry a dirty look that was a mixture between a pout, a frown, and an angry glare.

"I wasn't _comforting _her, I was merely stating a fact. Who else's could it be? Hermione knows it's his, you know it's his, hell, I'm sure everyone knows it's his. Who else, besides Weasel, could be so thick?"

Harry rolled his eyes and rolled onto his back. "You could have been more comforting about it, though," He mumbled.

Draco scowled. "Oh, like you were so much better!" Draco accused, rolling onto his side to stare at Harry, which, Harry had to admit (if only to himself), felt quite unnerving.

Harry sighed as he stared up at the ceiling, ignoring the chills he was receiving at the way Draco continued to intently gaze at him. "This isn't what this year was supposed to be like," Harry finally whispered, and Draco had to strain to hear what Harry had said. "Hermione wasn't supposed to get pregnant, and these…_things_ weren't supposed to happen."

Draco thought he glimpsed a lone tear trekking its way down Harry's cheek, but it could have just been a trick of light, so he let it go without mentioning it. "My life's not all roses and chocolate, either, Potter." Draco admitted. When Harry finally looked over at Draco, it was evident that he _had_ been crying. His eyes pierced into Draco almost violently, and just as surprising as the intensity in them was the way they seemed to glow in the dark, a light green that nearly had Draco gasping for breath as Harry picked apart the meaning behind the words he had just voiced.

"It was supposed to be easy. Why isn't it easy?" Harry whimpered, closing his eyes as another tear found itself rolling slowly down his cheek to land on his pillow and immediately be absorbed by it.

Draco sighed, but Harry wasn't finished. "My life's never been easy. Why can't it just be easy for _once_? Why can't Voldemort just go away, why can't Ron and Hermione stop fighting, why can't Hermione just _not be _pregnant?"

Draco blinked. These were, by far, the most words that Harry had ever consciously voiced aloud to him; and though they weren't happy, Draco found himself savouring the way they rolled off Harry's tongue, the tone with which he voiced them, and the passion and meaning behind the words.

"Harry, worse things have happened," Draco tried to console the sadness that was washing off of Harry in waves, but Harry just glowered at him.

"Yeah, I'm sure that every wizard has a dark overlord after them! I'm sure everyone needs to stay with a family that hates them just so they won't be killed or _worse _by that dark overlord! And I'm sure that everyone has the whole Wizarding community relying on them to vanquish the very person that wants them dead. Yeah, everyone has a life just like mine, and theirs are so much harder." Harry looked deeply into Draco's eyes. "I would give anything to be normal. I would give anything to be someone else, _anyone _else, really. Anything…" he trailed off and rolled onto his side, facing away from Draco, and moments later, Draco could have sworn he heard a sob emit from the motionless form in the bed across from him.

His heart clenched painfully, and before he knew it, he was repeating the actions of the night before, settling himself into Harry's bed, though this time he spooned up behind him. Though Draco felt Harry stiffen, he didn't oppose, and Draco's arms tightened protectively around Harry as they both drifted into a fitful sleep.

**XXX**

Harry awoke with a start, his scar throbbing with the worst pain he had experienced yet pulsing through his skull, wrenching his breath in pants from his body as he tried to control his urge to scream. As he tried to recollect what he had been dreaming before he had fallen asleep, Draco sat up beside him and placed a worried hand on his shoulder. "Are…are you alright?"

Harry gulped and nodded as he gasped for breath, trying to steady his heavily beating heart. Once the pain in his scar had returned to nothing, Harry sighed and stepped out of bed, though he immediately regretted it, as the stone floor beneath his feet was cold and unforgiving. Harry yearned to climb back under the covers and fall asleep, but one glance at his otherwise-occupied bed left that option completely out of the question.

Draco was sleep-rumpled, his hair out of place and his eyes squinted so that he could make out Harry through his sleep-fogged haze. His pajamas were completely wrinkled from sleep and a lot of tossing and turning during the night on his part. His head was pounding, and his stomach was clenched painfully; it felt as if he hadn't eaten in days. With a groan, Draco fell back onto the mattress in a lump, clutching his stomach with one hand and his head with the other. This time it was Harry's voice that asked the question. "Are _you _okay?"

Draco groaned again and clenched his eyes shut against the happily rising sun that was now streaming through the window. "Ugh…no. I think I'm going to be sick. What was it that we had for supper last night?"

"Uh…" It seemed as though the dream Harry had been having wasn't the only thing he had forgotten. "I…uh, I don't remember." Harry said sheepishly.

"A lot of bloody good _that _does me," Draco grumbled.

"Sorry," Harry said as he sat on Draco's unoccupied bed with a heavy sigh.

"Good morning, boys!" Madam Pomfrey greeted cheerfully. Then, when she had spotted Draco groaning on the bed, she said, "Oh, my. Apparently it's not such a good morning _after _all. Are you okay, dear?"

With another groan, Draco glared at first Harry, then the healer who was bustling about the room. "No!" He cried as his stomach clenched violently and he came close to losing whatever it had been they had eaten the night before.

"Ah," Madam Pomfrey said as she approached the bed. "Perhaps Albus didn't give it to you _after _all."

"Give me _what_?" Draco asked desperately.

Madam Pomfrey seemed to ignore Draco as she leaned over the bed and checked his forehead with the back of her hand. "Oh, you're burning up. Strange, though. It seems that your soul has begun without it. I don't believe this has ever happened before. You must be desperate!" Madam Pomfrey grinned and patted Draco softly on the head. Draco managed to wince at the pain that immediately began shooting from where she touched him, and then groaned again.

"What did Dumbledore forget to give me!" He shrieked.

"Your Purification Potion, of course." Madam Pomfrey said as she rustled around in a bag she had been carrying, drawing out a sickly looking grey mess of a potion, which had Draco clenching his fist over his mouth upon sight. "Oh, now, don't worry. It won't be that bad; Harry's already had his, and he's lived to tell the tale, haven't you, Harry?"

Harry nodded with a grimace as Madam Pomfrey reached out to pull Draco's hand away from his mouth. "Here, Harry, hold on to his hand. Maybe it'll help a bit."

Harry blanched and Draco desperately reached his hand out to Harry, his eyes pleading. There was pain, deeply seeded in Draco's eyes, and Harry couldn't resist the lure of Draco's outstretched hand. Sighing in resolve, Harry reached out and grasped Draco's hand firmly. What followed shocked both Harry and Draco. Madam Pomfrey, on the other hand, ceased to notice, despite her usual observant ways.

The calmness that seemed through Draco immediately after Harry had grasped his hand was almost like an aphrodisiac, which shocked Draco thoroughly. He arched into Harry's grasp and tried to yank away from Madam Pomfrey, who's touch sent immediate shocks of pain and discomfort through Draco's body. Harry, too, felt the affect Draco's touch had on him, and he found himself restraining himself from jumping Draco right then and there. It was the first time in almost two days that the two had touched, and it was heaven to have the feeling of Harry back again. As a matter of fact, if Madam Pomfrey hadn't been there right then, there was no telling what would have happened.

The sexual tension was thick in the room; one could almost cut through it with a knife. The room was so silent that you could almost hear a pin drop, but the silence was instantly cut through with the shrill-sounding voice of Madam Pomfrey, saying, "Yes, that's right. Almost done now, my boy. Oh no, you swallow it, don't you dare let it come back up yet."

Draco and Harry were both cut from the trance-like state they had been in, staring deeply into one another's eyes, and Draco noticed for the first time that his body had been complying to Madam Pomfrey's orders almost against his wishes, and definitely without him knowing about it. This caused him to choke on the rather tasteless, though thick, potion. Madam Pomfrey glared at him and pulled the vial of potion away from his lips, allowing him time to breathe, before placing it at his lips again.

This time, though, Draco could most definitely taste it; a mixture between gravel and dirt, mixed with the coppery taste of blood. He gagged reflexively, but the potion continued to go down his throat, and he looked over at Harry, who had glanced away. Draco willed Harry's eyes to meet his, but for the continuing moments, which felt like hours, that Draco was forced to swallow the potion, Harry kept his gaze averted.

"There, now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she pulled the now empty vial away from Draco's lips and he was immediately taken over by the urge to vomit. "Very good, now, as I've told Harry, the nausea should last for a good ten to twelve hours. In another few hours you should begin to have a headache, and a massive amount of stomach cramps should follow your bouts of vomiting. You may also experience excessive emotions, ranging from anything between anger and depression." Madam Pomfrey recited, and Harry couldn't help but notice that the words she said sounded exactly like the ones she had told him, minus the endearments. Apparently, Madam Pomfrey didn't like Draco nearly as much as she liked Harry. Then, she added, "Since your soul has decided to start without the potion, I don't know how much of a difference that will make. It may depend upon how long you have been having these symptoms."

Draco winced as a searing amount of pain speared through his head. It felt as though his brain were being sliced in two. "Uh," Another wince. "Only since I woke up." Without further ado, Draco leaned over the bed and continued to be sick all over Harry's bare feet. Harry groaned in disgust and looked to Madam Pomfrey, who, with a grin, cast a cleaning charm on the floor and Harry's feet before walking into her office.

**XXXXXXiXXXXXX**

**A/N: **Yes, this chapter is shorter than some of my others, but I figured I'd leave you all on a happy note, rather than a depressed, sad one. The next chapter will be up soon, and next time there will be more mentions of the mixed emotions both Harry and Draco are feeling, though whether they're because of the Purification Potion or not, I can't say. Until next time! ; )


	6. Phase Two: Desire

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg (but not until later). If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N:** I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that.

_**A special note from the author: **_

_Yay, twenty-two reviews! That may not seem like much to anyone, but wow! That's the most I've ever had, so go me! I believe I feel a party coming on! As a matter of fact, I've decided to reward all you faithful reviewers with an extra special, extra long chapter, out of the goodness of my heart (And the hope for more reviews, though I'll never tell anyone…oops, maybe I just did…oh well…). R&R! _D

**Special thanks go out to: **

**Pixiedora **

**Missindependent4**

**FallenMadness88**

**Shania Maxwell**

**Jujube15**

_And everyone else who's reviewed, for all the reviews (of course) and support you've given! This fic would not be possible without you, and that's why: _**This chapter is dedicated to you! **_ D_

**Credit Due:**

Although this is slightly late, I'd like to give credit to **fantasylover12001 **for the idea of Snape and Madam Pomfrey as a couple, in the fic: _The Elf Prince's Mate_. When I read it at first, I was slightly disgusted (I'm not really a big Snape fan), but once I got to thinking about it, I figured that it would be an interesting pair, not to mention one that isn't written about very often.

**Ideas Needed!**

I would also like to take the chance here to ask all of my readers to give me ideas for Phases. Over all, there will either be five or ten (maybe more, maybe less; I can't quite decide as of yet) of them, and I need ideas for them! So, all you creative people out there (like I know you are) who're reading this fic, please review with your opinions! _And now, without further ado…dun DuN DUN…**on with the fic**!_

**Chapter Six**

**Phase Two: Desire**

Harry sat in a chair that Madam Pomfrey had conjured for him, and Draco lay in Harry's bed, fast asleep. Harry eyeballed Draco warily; Draco _was _in a rather odd position, after all. He was on his knees, bum in the air (covered with the blanket, of course), with his face smashed into the pillows beneath him, and his hands curled up under his chest. In Harry's opinion, he looked very much like a small child.

Though Harry found himself quite jealous of Draco being able to sleep, in _his _bed, no less, he also found that no matter how hard he tried, he _couldn't _sleep. Given, it was only three in the afternoon, but there wasn't much to do in the infirmary other than read and sleep, as Hermione had yet to visit, and as she had promised to bring him some things to do, he wouldn't have any until she came. Over all, Harry was quite bored. And with Draco being asleep, he wasn't being much of a help. But Harry had to admit that he was rather thankful that Draco _was _asleep; he wouldn't know what to do if he _wasn't_.

_Maybe I should chew him out for sleeping in my bed. But knowing him, he'll probably pull a puppy dog face, and I'd go all soft on him. Damn it! _Harry thought to himself.

"Draco!" Harry gave up and nudged Draco softly. "Draco, wake up!"

Draco jumped and landed flat on his stomach with a pained 'Oomph.' "F'koff!" He mumbled, turning his face in the direction opposite of Harry and snuggling deeply under the blankets, the only thing poking out being his head. It actually made him look slightly like Uncle Vernon, the similarities being that with the way Draco was laying, it made him look like he had no neck.

"Draco," Harry said a little more forcefully. "I'm bo-o-ored! Wake up and entertain me." Harry was very aware of the fact that he sounded like a spoilt child, but he was far from caring. "Draco-o-o!"

As a matter of fact, he thought he sounded similar to the blonde who was currently trying to yank the blankets over his head with a mumbled, "Bugger off! It's late and I need my beauty sleep," Before rolling over, blankets and all, and landing on the floor.

Harry snorted. "Beauty sleep? Draco, you couldn't be any more beautiful if you tried." Harry slapped a hand over his mouth as soon as the words left his lips, but by the way Draco was worming around on the floor, he could tell Draco had heard. Thankfully, he was still half-asleep, and couldn't comprehend everything meant behind those simple words.

"If this is one of your soul's stupid attempts of-"

But, whatever Draco thought it was an attempt of was lost on Harry as Hermione burst into the room, all fake smiles that didn't quite reach her eyes, and laughs that didn't quite sound real. "Hey, guys! Here, Harry, I brought this for you." Hermione dejectedly (or cheerfully, depending on how thick you were) handed Harry a book, and Harry eyeballed it.

"Hermione, I told you to bring me something to _do_, not bring me _homework._"

"I'll have you know, Harry, that you're supposed to be _doing _your homework, so I hardly see the difference."

"I can think of a lot of other things he can be _doing_," Draco mumbled as he rolled over again on the floor, and though he was still half asleep, the sexual intent was not lost on Harry.

"Malfoy, could you stop being such a horny bugger for a while? At least for while I'm here?" Hermione asked as she handed Harry yet another tome, this time for Transfigurations class. Hermione eyeballed Draco with a weird look on her face, and whispered behind her hand to Harry, "Harry, why's he on the floor? I didn't interrupt anything, did I?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Psh, I wish." Much to his dismay, Draco glared at him as though he had heard the entire conversation (which for the most part, he had, as he had heard Harry's part of it and it was easy to piece together the rest of it), and Harry smiled ruefully.

Draco flopped once more on the cold, hard stone floor, then with a sigh stood and tossed the blankets in a very ungraceful heap back onto the bed. "I'm sorry, Granger. I'm afraid I can't really turn off what I feel at a moment's beck." Then, Draco shot Harry a withering look. "Thanks a lot for waking me up, Potter. Although you may not be concerned with my beauty, I, for one, wish to look my best at all times." And with a cheeky wink, he walked into the bathroom and refused to leave it for another hour and a half while he took a shower and prepared to greet his public…bed, yet again.

Harry sighed. "Is there anything _interesting _in that bag of yours, Hermione?" He asked once he had finished watching Draco's bum-er, back, retreating into the bathroom. Hermione smirked at him and seated herself in the seat that Harry had just occupied moments before.

"Define _interesting_." She said with a genuine smile, small as it was.

Harry shrugged. "Anything, so long as it's something to _do_."

Hermione positively beamed at this, then pulled out some knitting that was nearly finished. "Here, help me make these!" She said, handing Harry the knitting that looked something like a hand-knit wand-covering.

"What exactly are 'these'?" Harry asked suspiciously as he glared sullenly down at what she had handed him. "You're not on about freeing the house elves again, are you? Because I'll have you know that I'm quite happy here in the Hospital Wing just the way it is, and I refuse to have the house elves stop helping out around here just because you're trying to free them again!"

"Harry! They're baby clothes! Of course, they aren't even close to being finished, but I'm trying. Since I know it's a girl, I can make dresses without worrying about having to take them apart later." Hermione grinned at the prospect of finishing a baby-sized dress.

"Er, yeah…" Harry said, eyeing the yarn thoughtfully. He watched as Hermione charmed her needles to knit for her and then summoned up some tea, and Harry tried the same charm, only to have one of the needles fly across the room and imbed itself deeply in the bathroom door. Moments later, a deranged looking Malfoy made his presence known by bolting out of the bathroom, knitting needle in tow, and proceeded to whack Harry smartly over the head with it.

"What the hell are you trying to do, _kill _me? I hardly think _that's _the way to treat your soul mate!" Draco fumed, hitting Harry over the head again with the needle. Harry winced, then grabbed the needle out of Draco's hand.

"Well, excuse me for my faulty magic! It's not exactly my fault I'd never bothered to learn how to knit before!" Harry said in defence. Draco slapped him upside the head one final time, this time with his hand, and then went back into the bathroom, stomping the whole way. Harry couldn't help but admire the way Draco looked in only a green towel covering him from the waist down.

Before he realized it, Hermione was looking at him skeptically. "Harry, what in the world's got you with such a goofy grin on your face?"

Harry looked over at Hermione, then out of nowhere, stated, "Draco's got a nice bum, don't you think?"

Hermione burst out laughing, and Harry looked at her in confusion. "What? I was being serious!"

**XXX**

Draco finally came out of the bathroom about a half an hour later, and seated himself by Harry, settling down for a game of wizard's chess that Hermione had brought with her, with Hermione knitting as she watched their game. She would giggle unexpectedly at him at random times, and Harry would flush a bright red. Draco was quite confused by what was going on, because every time Hermione finished her fit of giggles, she always mentioned something offhandedly about bums, which left Draco even more confused and Harry an even brighter red than he had been to start with. Was that some type of weird Gryffindor inside joke?

"Hermione!" Harry whined, sometime around the third or fourth time this happened. "If you're going to tease me, you might as well just _tell _him! It's not like it could be any _more _embarrassing than it already _is_!"

Draco looked between the two, even more confused than ever, and Hermione burst into a fresh fit of hysterics. This time, mid-laugh, she snorted, which seemed so surprise her enough to stop giggling. "Uh…Sorry, Harry! I mean, it's just…you, and…bums! Ha ha ha!" She burst out laughing again, quite loudly, actually.

This lead Draco to believe something that neither Harry nor Hermione would expect for him to think, though if you thought of it, it was quite a valid excuse for the way Hermione was acting, as some people often turned to drinking as a means of escape. "Uh, Granger, are you…drunk?"

Harry's eyes widened, and he too burst out laughing. Soon, he and Hermione were a heap of laughing…heapiness on the floor.

"No," Hermione choked out between laughs. "It's…oh, you'll never believe this…Harry, he…he says you've got a nice bum!" She keeled over laughing, landing right on top of a very red, no longer laughing Harry.

"Hermione, I wasn't _serious_ when I told you to tell him!" He said, flushing so deeply that it would give even Weasley a run for his money. He wanted nothing more to be swallowed up by the floor.

Draco raised an eyebrow, his mouth falling open in surprise. After that, things were more uncomfortable between Harry and Draco than they had been, even on that first day they had been stuck in the Hospital Wing, and by the time Hermione left at sometime around seven for dinner in the Great Hall, Harry could hardly make eye contact without turning bright red and looking away.

"To make it fair," Draco said finally, when he got tired of Harry avoiding his eyes. "I think you've got a nice bum, too."

Harry's jaw went slack, and he looked up at Draco, a look of disbelief and doubt written clearly in his eyes. "Really?" At Draco's nod, Harry scoffed. "I don't believe that." He said, though his eyes held a wistful gleam in them.

"And why not?" Asked Draco indignantly. "Am I not trustworthy all of a sudden?"

"Were you ever trustworthy?" Harry bit out as he stood and knocked the chess board aside, scattering the pieces around the room. He didn't even care to look down as he stepped on one of the pieces and broke it on his way to hide under the covers of his own bed that had somehow, during the course of the day, made itself.

Draco glared at him. "How dare you accuse me of such things! I'm not the one claiming that others have nice bums and then denying it!"

"I never denied it!" Harry shouted at Draco.

"Well you might as well have!" Draco shouted back. "And it's not something to be embarrassed about! We're _soul mates_, Harry, we're _supposed _to be attracted to one another!"

Harry clenched his jaw tightly, holding back the retort that was on the tip of his tongue. Draco stepped closer and wrapped his arms loosely around Harry's waist. "We're supposed to. But you aren't making things easy." He whispered softly into Harry's ear.

Harry pulled away. "Oh, and like _you _are?" Harry accused as he stormed over to his bed and sat down heavily. To Draco it looked like Harry was deflated, defeated, and it was definitely a sight Draco did _not _want to see.

"Look, let's just at least _try _to make things easy, okay? I mean, soul mates…they spend their whole _lives _together, and no matter how much neither of us wants it, it's still going to happen, regardless. Can't we just _try _to be civil?"

Harry glowered. "I don't want to agree with you right now. I'm in a pissy mood, thank you. I think I want to stay this way."

Draco looked at Harry curiously. "You really are a stubborn arse." Draco muttered as he made his way over to his own bed.

Harry scowled at Draco. "Shove off, Malfoy! No one asked for you to stay here with me."

Draco chuckled. "Actually, I really don't have many options, do I?"

Harry growled and turned his back on Draco. Draco peered over Harry's shoulder and sighed. "Dinner's ready," He said, trying to get Harry back to speaking terms with him.

"I'm not hungry." Harry said stiffly as he lay down on his bed and yanked the covers up over his head. It didn't help that Draco's scent was all over them from the previous night, or that Harry knew that Draco was still staring at the back of his head (or what Draco thought was the back of Harry's head, as he had no way to be sure with the covers pulled completely over it). Actually, that was pretty unnerving, but Harry was determined to…what? What was he determined to do? And why was he acting the way he was?

Harry scoffed and kicked his covers down as the warm heat that surrounded him suddenly became too much for him. "Look, Draco, I'm sorry. I just…it was the potion, I'll bet you anything."

Draco raised a brow. "Oh, really? Anything?" A glint came into Draco's eyes that made Harry's throat close up and he had to swallow thickly to make it start working again.

"You know what I meant," Harry said, sitting down at the table and ignoring Draco as he did the same.

Draco sighed. "Yeah, I suppose. But lately I've been so horny!" He admitted, watching Harry's face closely for a reaction.

Harry looked up from the mashed potatoes he had been wolfing down, spoon posed half-way to his mouth, which was full of even more potatoes than should be humanly possible, and his eyebrows raised. "Uh, that's…great." Harry said, blank-faced, before he began wolfing the potatoes down again.

Draco's shoulders slumped in disappointment; he had been hoping to bait Harry into something that was at least slightly physical.

When they were finished eating, Harry stood and stretched, Draco watching him yearningly as his lean body moved, sinewy muscles moving beneath his skin sensuously as his clothes were drawn closer to his body, leaving not much to the imagination. Draco's gaze ate him up quickly, and he was disappointed when Harry stopped stretching and walked over to his own bed, scratching his belly and reaching for one of the books Hermione had left for him to study from.

When Harry settled on his bed and opened the heavy tome for Muggle Studies, Draco sighed and walked over to Harry's bed, looking down over his shoulder to see what he was reading.

"What in the hell is a television?" He asked conversationally.

Harry looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. "You mean you don't know?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Well, obviously not, if I've decided to _ask _you about it."

Harry blinked, then looked down at his book. They had studied about Televisions in second year, and Harry was surprised that Draco didn't know this information that was now common knowledge to him, having lived with muggle relatives for most of his life. "You haven't taken Muggle Studies, then?"

Draco shook his head, then looked down at the book Harry was reading interestedly. "It's a muggle device, called a Video Broadcasting System. It's a system that works by capturing sounds and showing pictures, and broadcasts these via a combined electronic audio and video signal, and reproduces them to be viewed and listened to. Muggles call them shows, or movies, and these are usually watched for entertainment purposes."

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Why would someone want to watch a picture? That's almost as boring as watching grass on he Quidditch pitch grow." Draco said.

Harry didn't really want to go into long elaborations. He sighed and rubbed his temple, trying to think of a way to dissuade Draco from this subject. "Uh, muggles are easily entertained, I guess."

Draco seemed to think that that answer sufficed, and sat down on Harry's bed beside him without even being invited. Harry, though slightly disgruntled, scooted over to allow room for Draco, and they read from Harry's Muggle Studies book until well into the morning hours.

**XXX**

Draco woke up and immediately wondered why there was something crinkly beneath his face, and better yet, why his face was stuck to it. It took him a while to get his bearings, but when he finally did, he realized that the book he and Harry had been reading the night before had been used as a pillow by himself, and that weird weight on his lower back was Harry's head.

Better yet, or at least to Draco, Harry was already awake and tracing patterns on Draco's back. He wasn't wearing his glasses, and Draco wondered why not, before remembering that he had fixed Harry's eyes. Though it had only been about a week or two ago, Draco could have sworn it had been years after all that had happened between them. He supposed that Harry just wore his glasses for comfort, as he had worn them for the past sixteen or seventeen years, and couldn't get used to the feel of not having them on.

Harry didn't seem in any hurry to get up, and he continued to trace patterns on Draco's back, looking into his eyes with a slight smile curling the corner of his lips up. Draco smiled back, then turned to read the book that he had been sleeping on. It was actually quite interesting; muggles were a lot smarter than Draco had given them credit for.

The morning continued on without much happening; Harry and Draco stayed in bed and Madam Pomfrey came in only once to check up on them, and hadn't bothered them much when she had, only feeling Harry's forehead and giving Draco a potion to subdue the aching throb in his head. Hermione had told them she wouldn't be able to visit that day, and Draco and Harry found that they quite liked the private time they spent together much better than time spent together with other people in the room with them.

They still weren't allowed to leave the Hospital Wing, and Madam Pomfrey had told them that the school had established another entire Hospital Wing at the other end of the school, so that the boys wouldn't be bothered. At that news, Draco had asked if he could have his owl and Harry decided that he wanted Hedwig as well, so Madam Pomfrey relented, so long as they remembered to let the owls out in the mornings so that they wouldn't mess up the Hospital Wing too much.

As soon as Madam Pomfrey left the room, Draco had searched for a quill and an extra piece of parchment, which both were conveniently by his head, as he and Harry still hadn't left the bed and were still in the same comfortable position as they had been that morning, though Harry had stopped tracing things onto Draco's back about an hour ago. With the quill, Draco scribbled a quick note to Blaise, asking him to bring everything of Draco's to the infirmary, as that was where he would be staying for an indefinite amount of time, and he wanted to make sure that he had everything that he may need.

Harry watched him curiously as he did so. "Hey, Draco?"

"Hmm?" Draco continued writing; the note was nearly complete, now. All he had left to do was sign it and tie it to his owl.

"When you're done with the quill can I use it?"

Draco nodded, and after finding another extra piece of parchment, he reached behind him and handed them both to Harry. Harry smiled thankfully at him, and their knuckles brushed; for longer than necessary? Yes. But did they care? No.

Harry scribbled out a note to Ron, asking for him to do the same as Draco was having Blaise do. Harry found it odd that the entire three days he had been in the Hospital Wing, Ron hadn't visited him, but he supposed it was because Ron probably thought Hermione was there and was avoiding her at all costs. Harry wrote a little P.S. stating that Hermione wouldn't be there, if that were the case, then folded it up and gave it to Hedwig, who hooted in appreciation for being allowed to take a letter; she hadn't done so in quite a while.

Draco received a reply shortly after lunch, which was a lazy affair that was held in Harry's bed, as both he and Draco felt just fine where they were and didn't feel like moving an inch. Draco read over the note, and then with a short nod, vanished it.

He went back to reading Harry's Muggle Studies book, which he found quite interesting. When he looked back to check on Harry, sometime around five in the afternoon, he was slightly displeased to find that Harry was napping. Though what he wasn't displeased to find was that Harry was slowly worming his way on top of Draco in sleep, until his head was laying on Draco's shoulders, with half of his body covering Draco in a protective-like state, and the other half laying in what looked to be a rather uncomfortable position on the bed, as his body was at an angle, one leg thrown over Draco, the other slightly crushed by the weight of his own body.

With a grin, Draco closed the book and reached up to tuck a straggling strand of Harry's hair behind his ear. With a soft kiss to Harry's lips, he gently pulled out from beneath Harry, careful to place him softly on the bed, snuggled up against a pillow that he enlarged to be almost the same size as himself.

Seconds later, Blaise entered the infirmary loudly grumbling about stupid first year Gryffindors. Draco motioned for him to be a little quiet, and with a scowl, Blaise grudgingly complied.

"I tried to get everything, but Pansy insisted that you wouldn't need some of the things, so she made me leave them behind. She also insisted that you get caught up with any school work that you've been falling behind in, so she forced me to bring _all _your bloody books." Blaise explained as he drew Draco's trunk out of his pocket and enlarged it.

Draco nodded in understanding as he poked his head inside and checked to make sure that everything he needed was in it. With a pleased nod, he closed the trunk and put it at the foot of the bed that had, though it was officially his, not actually been slept in for his entire stay in the infirmary.

When he turned around again, Blaise was eyeing Harry with a strange look on his face. "He's your soul mate? Draco, you can't be serious."

Draco shrugged and conjured some tea and an extra chair for Blaise to sit in. "You don't really get to pick who the other half of your soul is, Blaise. Believe me, if you did, everyone would be happy. I suppose it was made this way so that it would be more difficult. And Potter certainly hasn't made it any easier for either of us."

Blaise nodded as he sipped gingerly at the tea that Draco had summoned. "Pansy was bloody furious when she found out that you had found your soul mate and it wasn't her. I think she's come to term, now, though. She seems happy enough for you."

Draco looked at Blaise incredulously. "Does _everyone _know?" He asked, a look of horror on his face at the prospect of his father finding out and using it to his advantage.

Blaise shook his head, though, much to Draco's relief. "Just Pansy, me, and Crabbe and Goyle. I don't know about the Gryffindorks, but so far I'm guessing not very many people know."

"Good," Draco said as he thoughtfully sipped on his tea. "It's better that way."

"I have to admit, though," Blaise added thoughtfully as he looked over at a still sleeping Harry. "If _that's _who you've got to be stuck with for the rest of your life, it isn't that bad of a thing, is it?"

Draco shrugged. "He's actually an okay guy, Blaise."

Blaise nodded. He stayed for another few minutes, before claiming that he had homework to catch up on and politely excused himself from the infirmary. Draco sat and mulled over his thoughts for some while afterwards, staring at the mussed black hair without really even noticing what he was looking at.

After a while, Harry's head started to move as he slowly woke up, though Draco ceased to notice this as well. It actually wasn't until Harry was standing behind his chair with his hands on Draco's shoulders that Draco noticed with a start that Harry wasn't in the bed as he had been the last time Draco had looked. Draco nearly jumped out of his skin as Harry's lips met his neck softly, quickly followed by tongue, but he relaxed as that ever-familiar black hair came into his view out of the corner of his eye, and he sighed as he closed his eyes in pleasure against Harry's attentions.

Soon Harry's other hand came up to Draco's shoulder, and he began a wonderfully fulfilling massage on Draco's tense shoulders, coaxing a loud moan out of Draco when he hit a very tender area and kneaded softly until it felt better. Harry's tongue worked it's way up Draco's neck in a chillingly sensual caress, and Draco moaned as Harry reached his pulse point and sucked softly. Once Harry had had his fill of Draco's neck, his lips worked their way up to Draco's own, and Draco soon found himself tilted back in his chair, met face-to-face (upside down, of course) with Harry in one of the most erotic kisses he had ever experienced.

When they finally ran out of breath, Harry worked his way back down Draco's throat as he slowly worked his way around the chair Draco was seated in to straddle Draco's lap. Draco pulled Harry's lips back up to his own and they kissed passionately, tongues sliding, lips searing, teeth clicking, pants and moans palpable in the heavily warm air. Draco's hands clenched and unclenched in Harry's shirt, yanking him as close as possible, until both were so close that they could feel one another's heartbeat through their chests.

One of Harry's hands found their way into Draco's hair, and it tangled in the flaxen strands, pulling Draco ever closer, until they were so close that they could no longer come any closer. The other hand cradled the back of Draco's head, almost lovingly, fingers moving in slight circular motions.

They melted together until it was almost as though they were no longer two; Harry and Draco, but one; a nameless heap of boy-flesh, pulsing with love and hatred, closely linked, but love the most prominent; happiness and angst, and all the other emotions related to love and hate, and that kiss, that moment, was the only thing that mattered to them.

Moments later, Harry pulled away, a look of love and longing so deeply imbedded in his eyes that Draco felt his heart clench tightly in his chest as he realized that he returned those feelings exactly, and the total of which his measured up to may even be more compared to those of Harry's feelings towards him. They both knew at that moment that no matter how much they fought, no matter how much they disagreed, and no matter what happened, they were meant to be together, and nothing would stop them from fulfilling their destiny.

Harry rested his forehead against Draco's, and Draco could feel the heat pulsing off of the lightening-bolt shaped scar on Harry's forehead. The scar was hotter than the rest of the skin on Harry's forehead, searing, in fact. Even though Harry was sweating profusely, the scar on his forehead was still burning up, so hot that even though it was starting to hurt, Draco couldn't pull away from Harry's forehead.

As Harry's scar started to cool down, the passion in Harry's eyes intensified, and he grabbed one of Draco's hands, standing and pulling Draco up, leading him to the bed. That night, two very satisfied young men fell asleep in an iron-tight grasp on one another.

**XXX**

Madam Pomfrey walked into the old infirmary that now housed Harry and Draco, humming a tuneless song that she had picked up somewhere as she was walking down the halls one day; most likely one of the students blaring their music way too loud. As she approached the bed Harry and Draco were on, she noticed two things.

One; the boys were clutching to each other as though they were afraid of loosing one another in sleep, and even as Draco shifted in his sleep, Harry's clutch tightened around him, pulling him securely tighter against him.

And two; both boys were shirtless, which was a rather odd development in and of itself, though both were still wearing bottoms, as the covers had fallen off in the midst of the night, and she could see the already-stained pajama bottoms, where both boys' sexual pleasure was evident. They looked unsalvageable, but Madam Pomfrey smiled softly and cast a quick _Scourgify_, along with other spells to clean and change the boys' pajama bottoms without them noticing. With another flick of her wand, the sheets of the bed were changed, and the covers were pulled over the sleeping boys.

Just as she was about to leave the room, Draco rolled onto his back, one hand flinging out and hitting the bedside table and causing the glass of water that was readily waiting to be gulped down to fall off and shatter. Madam Pomfrey quickly cast the _Reparo _charm, and she had to step closer to cast the drying charm. When Draco's head flopped over to face her, Madam Pomfrey almost fainted at the sight of a lightening-bolt shaped scar adorning his forehead, exactly like Harry's.

With a gasp, she stumbled back, completely forgetting to cast the drying charm, and without another glance back towards her patients, she rushed from the room to find Albus.

She couldn't help thinking one final thought as she left the room; _And so it has begun…_

**XXXXXXiXXXXXX**

The scientific information about Televisions was found in Encarta ® World English Dictionary © & (P) 1998-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

**A/N: **Yes, that was an evil place to leave you off at, but also completely necessary. Hey, I've got to leave it so that you'll come back for more, don't I? lol, I promise to have any (or at least some; I can't answer all of them or the whole fic would go down the drain!) questions that you may have resolved by the end of the next chapter, you'll see.

But, to leave you with one final thought, before you angrily review about how evil I was for leaving you here; _What has finally begun_?

Mwahahahahaaaaa! Okay, so I'm evil sometimes. Sorry! I just hope that question doesn't bother you too much, and I'll hurry to get the next chapter up as soon as possible!


	7. Phase Three: Discovery

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg (but not until later). If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N:** I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that.

This chapter is dedicated to **CHAx2** for suggesting the title _Discovery_. (I don't know about all the chapters starting with 'D' or not, I hadn't even noticed I'd done it until you mentioned it. But now that you have, I think that's a wonderful idea! Thanks!)

**Chapter Seven**

**Phase Three: Discovery**

_(The Second Prophesy)_

Harry was the first one to wake up that morning, to the irritated squawk of Hedwig, who was flying around the room, being pursued by Draco's eagle owl. Harry sighed and tried to pull away from Draco, who tightened his grip around Harry's waist almost painfully.

"Draco," Harry croaked, his voice still sleep-laden. "Let go."

Draco mumbled something incoherent and pulled Harry even tighter against him. Harry rolled his eyes and pried Draco's hand, finger by finger, off of his body. When Harry was finally loose, Draco's eyes opened and he looked at Harry with an offended look on his face. "What was that for?" Draco asked.

"What was _what _for?" Harry asked, brow furrowed as he tried to catch a very cross Hedwig.

"You woke me up!" Draco accused.

"Not purposefully," Harry said in way of an apology, still following Hedwig with his eyes. "Make your damn owl stop chasing her! She has a letter for me!"

Draco blinked at Harry and Harry sighed exasperatedly. "Fine, I'll do it. But I won't be gentle."

With that, Harry caught Draco's owl by the leg and refused to let go, even though the owl was angrily pecking at his arm in a vain attempt to get free. Hedwig flew and perched on Harry's other extended hand, and when Harry was sure Hedwig would be safe from the eagle owl, he let Draco's owl loose and grabbed the letter from Hedwig. As he approached the window, he softly told Hedwig to come back in about half an hour and he might have another letter for her to deliver. With a quick apology to her, he let her out of the window, quickly shutting it behind her so that Draco's owl couldn't get her.

"You could have been nicer about it." Draco said, rubbing his eyes as he stepped from the bed and approached the table that was already set with breakfast for the both of them.

"I was nice," Harry said nonchalantly, unfolding the note he had received. "To my _own _owl."

Draco folded his arms across his chest and glared at Harry and Harry smiled. "I _told _you to make him stop chasing her." Sitting on the edge of the bed Draco had just left, Harry finished unfolding the note and read through it quickly.

_Harry,_

_I'm sorry I can't come and give you the stuff you need. Don't worry, it's not because Hermione'll be there, or because she won't, but because I have other things I have to do. Lavender's promised to help me 'study' for an upcoming test in charms class. Maybe you can ask Hermione to bring some of your stuff? Well, I promise to come visit you soon. I hope you and Malfoy don't kill each other, but if you just so happened to hurt him in some way, just a little…'accident' you know, I wouldn't blame you. You won't believe some of the rumors that're going around!_

_Get Well Soon,_

_Ron_

Harry sighed and re-folded the note. Tossing at the closest rubbish bin, he stood and joined Draco at the table. When the tapping at the window started, neither noticed. It was a rather cloudy day outside, and Harry just figured that it was raining. When the tapping not only persisted, but became pounding, Draco looked up. "Uh, your owl's at the window."

Harry looked up, and sure enough, there was Hedwig, another letter clutched in her beak. Harry's brow furrowed. When he opened the window, Hedwig refused to come in, and when Harry saw Draco's own owl perk up, he knew he'd better hurry to take the letter. "I don't have a reply for Ron yet, I don't think I will. But still, you come back in half an hour and I'll give you one for this one." He took the letter, then threw Hedwig a bit of bacon. This letter was from Hermione. Harry's brow furrowed further when he noticed how un-composed the handwriting was, compared to Hermione's normal, calculated, perfect handwriting. He quickly ripped the slightly tattered and tear-stained piece of parchment out of the envelope, and hastily read it.

**Harry, **

**I would have gotten this to you sooner, but the castle owls refused to deliver within the premises, and I couldn't find Hedwig. For some reason, Hedwig delivered your letter to Ron to me first, and even though I knew I shouldn't, I read it. Sorry, but I knew he'd say no. He and Lavender are having some type of fling, I think he's trying to get me jealous. Anyways, I can bring you everything you need, just have Hedwig bring me a list of everything and I'll have it to you by tonight when I come and visit. I'll probably be visiting after dinner, so be ready, okay? There are a lot of nasty rumors going around about you and Draco, but don't worry. Not very many people know the truth, not even Ron. He asked me before I came over for a visit for the first time, and I told him that you were just sick with the flu. I'm sorry if you wanted for him to know, but you know he wouldn't have taken it very well, so it's for the best. I think Blaise and Pansy know, but they don't seem to have a problem with it. Well, at least _Blaise _doesn't. But I think Pansy's gotten over her little grudge against you. You know, she and Draco were engaged to be married since birth, their parents arranged for it when they were three. I'll tell you, some Wizarding customs are just weird. Anyway, don't ask how I know, we'll talk about that when I come and visit you guys. Oh, just look at how long this is. Sorry, sometimes I get carried away. We'll talk more about everything when I come up to visit, so I'll be seeing you soon.**

**Love you,**

_**Hermione**_

Harry blinked twice, then looked at Draco, who was looking at him with a concerned look on his face. "Uh, do we have any extra parchment? I have to write back to this."

Draco nodded and got some parchment from the trunk at the foot of his still un-slept in bed, handing it along with a quill to Harry.

_Hermione,_

_I'm glad you offered to bring me everything I need. Draco's already got his trunk, Blaise brought it up. I was sleeping when he did, though, so I don't know if he's got a problem with it or not. Anyway, I just think I'd rather have my whole trunk, if that's possible. That way I know you didn't accidentally forget anything. And could you check to make sure the invisibility cloak's in it?_

_Thanks,_

_Harry_

Draco was looking over his shoulder as Harry wrote, and though it was unnerving, Harry hurriedly wrote the note, as he could see Hedwig approaching the window. She was earlier than Harry had expected, but she had always been like that, so it didn't really worry him. When she got to the window, Harry gave her the letter. As he watched Hedwig fly away again, this time towards Gryffindor Tower, Draco approached him from behind.

"They don't really have any problems with us, you know."

"You were engaged to Pansy." Harry said off handedly. It was more of a question than an accusation, but he knew that there had to have been _some _truth behind the words Hermione had written.

"Not because I wanted to be," Draco wrapped his arms around Harry's waist loosely and rested his head on Harry's shoulder, staring out the window with him. "My father was hell bent on me producing an heir, even after I was just born. He was convinced that if I wasn't engaged to someone then, I never would be. It was the most important thing in his life, I think. Besides serving…Voldemort, that is. It was the second most important thing, I guess."

Harry turned his face slightly so he could see Draco's face. "You should have told me."

Draco looked over and their eyes met. "We haven't really been doing much talking."

"Pansy's got to be a little upset." Harry said thoughtfully, looking away from Draco's eyes. They were too much to concentrate on at that moment. The clarity that shown in them, the crisp calculation, the love…

Harry's hand shot up instinctively to rub his scar, a habit he had developed sometime in fifth year. He didn't know what purpose it served, but when he did it, he could always think clearer, and it helped to relieve some stress and tension.

Draco pulled away with a sigh. "Of course she was upset when she found out. I guess she just decided to make the best out of a bad situation when we were in fifth year, and she sort of developed…a crush on me. We've always been friends, but I never would have been able to marry her. And Blaise says she's gotten over it."

Harry's eyes followed Draco as he made his way into the bathroom, lingering after him even after the door to the bathroom had clicked softly shut. Seating himself down at the table once again, he took a bite of sausage, just as the door to the bathroom was flung open. Harry, who had his back to the bathroom, grinned. "Wow, you didn't take nearly as long today. You're getting bet-"

"What the _hell _did you do to me?" Draco said, whipping Harry's chair around to face him and pointing to his forehead. His eyes were livid, his body tense.

Harry looked at the lightening-shaped scar on Draco's forehead in awe. "I…I didn't do anything!" Harry said defensively, mouth staying agape as he continued to stare at Draco's forehead.

"You had to of! I didn't bloody well do this to myself!"

"What do you think I did, try to kill you? You think you've survived the killing curse too, now? Is that it?" Harry asked, anger beginning to seep into his own voice.

"I didn't say that!" Draco snapped. "But you've done _something _to me!"

"What? What could I have _possibly _done to you? I don't even have my _wand_, I case you've forgotten! It's in my _trunk_!" Harry's eyes were flashing, and Draco's mouth dropped open as he stared into Harry's eyes. He tried to tear his gaze away, but he found that he couldn't. "What?" Harry asked, a slightly concerned tone seeping into his still angry voice. When Draco didn't answer, Harry became exasperated. "What the hell are you _looking _at?"

Draco shook his head. "Your…your eyes."

"Yeah, what about them?" Harry asked, anger seeping back in and taking the place of the concern he no longer felt.

"They've…changed colors."

Harry blinked, confused. "They tend to do that when I'm angry."

"No, it's different than that," Draco assured, looking deeply into Harry's eyes, searching for something. "They've changed to…grey."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "I…what?"

**XXX**

Madam Pomfrey burst into Albus' office later that same morning. After searching first his office, then the whole school, then the Great Hall where breakfast had been taking place and having no success in finding him, she had decided to go back to where she had started to wait for him. She was surprised to find Minerva McGonagall and Albus both in his office, Minerva looking pointedly at her, and Albus looking at her knowingly.

"Oh, thank goodness I've found you, Albus. It's about the boys."

Dumbledore's eyebrows raised considerably. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm afraid that…the prophesy _is _about who we expected for it to be about. It's about them." When she said nothing more, Albus looked at her questioningly. With a nod, she continued. "When I went into their rooms earlier this morning, Draco knocked over the glass of water on the night stand beside his…er, Harry's bed. They were both sleeping together." With a pause, Madam Pomfrey sat in the chair Albus conjured for her before continuing. "I fixed it, but for some reason, the drying charm wasn't working. I stepped closer to try again, when Draco moved his head so that it was facing me. He…he had Harry's scar."

Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Did Harry still have it, too?" Poppy nodded. "Has Harry inherited any traits from Draco?" Dumbledore asked, alarm ringing clearly in his voice. It was very seldom that anyone had two prophesies made about them.

"I don't know for sure. They were sleeping, as I've said. As soon as I saw the scar, I rushed to find you."

Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "Do you think that they would be awake right now?"

Poppy thought back to the past few days and nodded. "They've always been awake at this time when I've gone in there."

Dumbledore stood, followed quickly by Minerva. Poppy glanced around the room, then followed suit. Dumbledore led the way to the old infirmary, with Poppy bringing up the rear.

Just as they stopped in the doorway to the hospital wing, they saw Draco's eyes widen. "What?" They heard Harry asked. "What the hell are you _looking _at?"

Draco shook his head. "Your…your eyes."

"Yeah, what about them?"

"They've…changed colors."

Minerva and Dumbledore made eye contact, their eyes widening, then turned back towards the scene unfolding before their very eyes.

"They tend to do that when I'm angry." Harry bit out sarcastically.

"No, it's different than that. They've changed to…grey."

Harry's eyes widened in surprise. That was all the professors needed to hear. They all three stepped into the room at once, their fears come true. "Harry, calm down." Madam Pomfrey took control of the situation. "You boys have _got _to stop fighting! I swear, what are we going to do with you?" She walked over, patted Harry's cheeks, felt his forehead, then took a hold of his jaw and pulled his mouth open, peeking inside for who knows what. When she finished examining Harry, she turned around and did the same for Draco, her eyes lingering for a few moments longer than they should have on the newly formed scar on Draco's forehead.

When she was finished, she conjured up five plush red chairs and some tea and sandwiches. When everyone was seated comfortably with a cup of tea, Dumbledore began talking.

"Hello, boys. I'm sure you're wondering what we've come here for. Madam Pomfrey tells us that Draco has developed a new…blemish of sorts." Draco paled, then glared over at Harry, who had decided to sit as far away from Draco as possible. "Now, Draco, don't look so upset. This is actually a good thing. As we all know," Dumbledore motioned to everyone sitting in the makeshift circle with his hands. "Very seldom does one person have two prophesies made about himself." Harry's face became pallid. "But," Dumbledore continued. "Rare as it may be, it is the case here. Harry, you have had a second prophesy made about you. Not only is it about you," Dumbledore turned his gaze from Harry and it landed on Draco. "But Draco as well. By none other than Professor McGonagall, as a matter of fact." Dumbledore motioned to Minerva, who nodded and pulled out her very own Pensieve. Harry was surprised to find that there was more than one in the Wizarding world, but it only made sense, he supposed.

As had happened nearly two years before, though it seemed much longer than that to Harry, Dumbledore raised his wand to his head and pulled out a silvery string of thought. He dropped it in the Pensieve, and then prodded the silvery contents with the tip of his wand. As had happened those two years ago, a figure rose out of it, but this time it was not Sibyll Trelawney that was revolving around as she spoke, but a tired looking Minerva McGonagall. Her voice was raspy, it seemed as though she was having trouble forming words. Her speech was jerky, as if it was forced from her, and it seemed as though she was skipping over words and phrases here and there.

"_Two are to be born; two who will have more power than even we can comprehend…when of age, they will have the ability to inherit each other's magical and physical trademarks…together, a dark force will be brought down by their hands…Two will have more power than even we can comprehend."_

As the figure slowly twirled back into the Pensieve, Harry could feel his breath whooshing out. He hadn't even realized that he had been holding it. He and Draco's eyes met, and Harry shuddered. Draco's eyes were sparkling, not with hatred, which Harry felt would have been easier to deal with, but with fear. Harry realized that he had dragged Draco, who was very unwilling, into his life, and now he was to suffer the consequences. No matter how many emotions Harry felt for Draco, he would never be able to completely protect him. Draco was a stubborn arse when it came to him getting his way, and no matter what excuse Harry used, Draco would insist that he could protect himself. "Draco, I…I'm sorry." He apologized, and Draco's eyes widened, then narrowed.

"Sorry for what? Harry, it's not _your _fault that we're soul mates!"

Dumbledore nodded slowly in agreement. "That's right, Harry. Fate has brought you together, and together you will bring Voldemort down."

Harry glared at Dumbledore. "No," He said defiantly. "I refuse to bring Draco into this. It's my job, and I have to do it alone!"

"Harry, once the bond is completed-"

"I don't _care_! Draco will not be sacrificed because of my destiny!"

Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his eyelids tiredly. Draco glared back and forth between them and rudely interrupted. "Who says it's up to _you_, Harry?"

"You won't! You can't! I refuse to let you!"

"It's not up to you, Harry." Dumbledore softly seconded Draco's accusations. "You can't stop this from happening. It's going to one way or another, and it'd be best if you just let it happen easily. It will take a lot out of you if you're not allowing it to happen right, and then when the time comes for you _both _to defeat Voldemort, _you _won't be ready." Harry glared at him.

"You can't take his side!" Harry replied weakly with a hot glare.

"I'm not taking sides, Harry. I'm merely implying that you can't stop it, and therefore should let it happen as it happens."

"I don't want to! I don't want…I don't want Draco to get hurt." Harry averted his stare to his suddenly very interesting feet, and refused to look up at everyone in the room, who he was sure were staring at him.

The next thing he knew, he was looking into grey eyes. His brow furrowed in confusion as Draco looked up at him from his kneeling position on the floor, his hands on Harry's knees. "Look, Harry. I won't get hurt. I wouldn't let it happen, and you wouldn't let it happen, so don't worry about it happening. Okay?"

Harry shook his head and sighed. "I can't help it. I just…Draco, I-"

"Uh, hi, guys." Hermione had come into he former infirmary to one of the weirdest sights she had seen in her life (and that was saying something, because she had been there in the Department of Mysteries). The teachers were all staring intently at the couple, and Draco was on his knee as if he was proposing.

_Ugh, I knew I shouldn't have come early. _She thought to herself with a sigh. "I'll just…uh, I'll come back later."

Harry leapt to his feet. "NO!" He shouted, surprising everyone in the room. Rubbing the back of his neck embarrassedly, he grinned. "I mean, uh…stay, we were pretty much finished here."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement and stood, vanishing the chair he had been seated in. Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey followed suit, and Professor McGonagall secretly tucked away the Pensieve while Hermione was occupied with Harry. "I'll be back tomorrow, boys. Harry, you be sure to remember what we've talked about. Just let it happen." Madam Pomfrey said and smiled softly and patted Harry on the shoulder, before following Albus and Minerva out of the room and leaving the trio alone.

Harry refused to meet Draco's insistent gaze, instead choosing to look at an imaginary speck on Hermione's shoulder.

"So, uh…what was that about?" Hermione asked, sitting on a vacant bed and pulling a tiny rectangle-shaped box out of her robes pocket, which was immediately enlarged, and turned out to be Harry's trunk.

Harry shrugged and once more avoided Draco's death glare by walking over to the trunk that had landed at the foot of the wrong bed, and pushing it over to the right one. Draco sighed and rolled his eyes, sitting on the vacant bed beside Hermione and stating, "Potter's afraid."

Harry glared at Draco and busied himself by burring his face in his trunk, searching for his Invisibility Cloak. "Am not!" He denied. After a while of rummaging without product, Harry withdrew from the trunk and looked to Hermione. "Where's the cloak?"

"You are _not _sneaking off in the middle of the night, Harry! I'm keeping it." Harry pulled a face, and Hermione grinned. Her grin made the blow of her next words softer. "Oh, don't you give me that face, young man! I put it where no one would ever think of looking," At Harry's hopeful face, Hermione continued. "Even you. Besides, even if you figured out where was, you wouldn't be able to get to it; it's in the girls' dorm."

Harry sulked in defeat, then went back to rummaging in his trunk. Draco seemed interested. "Why can't Harry get into the girls' dormitory?" He asked.

Hermione shot him a weird look, then said, "Have you ever tried to get into the girls' dormitory in your own house?"

Draco nodded. "Multiple times. I don't see what the problem is, though."

"There's a charm on the steps to the girls' dorm in Gryffindor that won't allow boys in. They turn into a slide. You mean there isn't any charm that keeps you out of the girls' dorm in Slytherin?"

Draco shook his head and tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Figures," He said finally. "Gryffindors are bloody sneaks. Slytherins are much more…reliable." With a grin, he pulled himself off of the bed and started digging through his own trunk. At Hermione's questioning gaze, he shrugged and grinned even wider.

"Then we can just agree to disagree," Harry stated, finally pulling his head out of his trunk. Draco's eyes widened when he saw brown legs poking out of Harry's mouth, twitching slightly, only to be pulled in by Harry's tongue moments later. "Chocolate Frog," Harry said off handedly. "Anyways, Gryffindors are _too _reliable. We can't help it if we have a sturdy sex drive."

Draco snorted. "Ha, sturdy."

Hermione giggled softly. "Hey, Harry, you got any more of those?" Harry tossed her a couple of packages of chocolate frogs, then began digging in the trunk again.

"Ah, there it is!" He exclaimed, retracting his wand from the other rubbish in the trunk with a smirk. Hermione unwrapped a Chocolate Frog and was about to toss it in her mouth, when it hopped away and landed with a '_splat_' on Draco's lap. Draco made a disgusted face, then began complaining.

"These clothes cost a small _fortune_! They'll never get clean again!" Standing, he began rubbing in vain at the dark smudge on his leg as the chocolate began to stain.

"You know, you're not making it any better." Hermione scolded as she cast a cleaning charm and got up to catch her Chocolate Frog.

Draco glared at her, rubbing the no longer stained bit of clothing. "I could have done that."

Hermione smirked. "When, while you were rubbing franticly at it and making it worse?"

"Shut up…"

Hermione's smirk turned into a full-blown smile as she chewed the Chocolate Frog thoughtfully. "Hey, Harry?"

"Hmm?" Harry was still rummaging around in his trunk, wand tucked safely in the back pocket of the jeans he had changed into while Draco and Hermione had been bickering. "Uh, you said something about a sturdy sex drive?" Harry flushed as Hermione continued. Anyone who thought Hermione was an innocent bookworm obviously didn't know Hermione like Harry knew Hermione. "Ron didn't have one. As I remember, he was vulnerable to pre-ejaculation."

Harry's eyes widened. "Hermione! That was definitely _not _something I wanted to know about my best friend!"

Hermione smirked, and Harry glared at her. "Besides, maybe that was just Ron!"

"Yes," Draco agreed, eyeing one of the abandoned Chocolate Frog packages on the bed Hermione had previously vacated longingly. "Harry has a very 'sturdy' sex drive. I know from experience."

Harry growled under his breath and buried his face in his trunk yet again, this time flushing in embarrassment. Hermione, on the other hand, looked intrigued. "You've _done _it?"

"That depends," Draco said, reaching over and snatching Hermione's Chocolate Frog while she was occupied with ogling Harry's bum thoughtfully. "On what you mean by 'done it'."

Hermione's jaw dropped open, and Draco laughed loudly as he swallowed the Chocolate Frog and licked his lips.


	8. Interlude: Lucius' Decision

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg (but not until later). If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N:** I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that.

**Chapter Eight**

**Interlude: Lucius' Decision**

Lucius sat at his desk, a thoughtful expression plastered on his pale face. Rumors about his son had been flying since he had started back at Hogwarts, and though Lucius esteemed those as good things, as his son was making himself known around the Wizarding World, this time was an acceptation. It was rumored that his son, Draco Malfoy, son of a Death Eater in a long line of Death Eaters, was bedding the very enemy of his lord, Voldemort. This displeased Lucius to no end.

_It seems that I will have to visit my son sooner than planned. _Lucius thought. Yes, Lucius knew that his son was put in the Infirmary. But what he didn't know were the circumstances Draco was put there under. Of course, any normal father would have immediately gone to Hogwarts to be with his son; Lucius was no normal father. It was commonly known that if Draco got hurt, the teachers were not to expect Lucius to come, and they were not to summon him unless the circumstances were dire. Therefore, Lucius did not know why his son was in the Hospital Wing, he merely knew that he was.

Tapping his fingers rhythmically on the desk, Lucius mulled over his thoughts as he slowly stewed. _These rumors cannot be true. My son is not a pouf, and I refuse to think the worst of him. _Lucius assured himself. _He would not go against my wishes so blatantly, and if he did, he knows the consequences. Disownment, it is not something that would sit well with him, I believe. But of course, it would pain me to find out that all of that work I've done raising him has gone to waste. Some type of punishment would be needed. _Lucius smirked as he thought of all the ways he would punish his son if he found out that these rumors were indeed true. Though he believed in family, deeply as a matter of fact, he believed in punishment more; as a matter of fact, he loved it. It was something he lived for, and he knew that it was something that he was very good at. _Perhaps a visit should be required of my dear son over the holidays. _His smirk slowly became a wicked smile.

**XXXXXXiXXXXXX**

**A/N: **This has to be by far one of the shortest chapters I've ever done (381 words together, not counting the heading (Disclaimer, Warning, etc.) and all of the A/N's (This one included)), but normally, interludes are short. Of course, I'm sure it answers some questions, but I must assure you that all (or at least most, as there may be other interludes as future chapters) further chapters will remain to be long, and that Lucius will come into the plot more often from now on. Anyways, just think of this second update as a little (lol, no kidding) New Years gift, to make up for the late Christmas chapter. : )


	9. Voldemort's New Body

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg (but not until later). If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N:** I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that. **Another pairing has been added to the extensive list of pairings in this fic! HGBZ. _After Ron leaves Hermione for other girls, claiming the baby she's carrying isn't his, Blaise is there to help her pick up the pieces, even though she grudgingly accepts his offer at first. Eventually this forms into a relationship of sorts. _May cause a spin-off fic; please review with your opinions. **

**Review Responses**: I know, it's taken me forever to do this, but I've decided to reply to my reviewers (if only in this chapter ;_sighs wistfully_;), that way you all know that I do read and enjoy any reviews I get!

**FallenMadness88**: I don't really know at this point. As this fic's only on its ninth chapter, anything goes, really. As a matter of fact, I very well may make a sequel to this one and have the war with Voldie in _it_. But, that would only depend upon how long this one is (and I plan on making it at least somewhat long). I'd have to think that over, so you never know, I just may surprise you!

**Pixiedora: **I think that Draco likes hugs more than he'd like to admit, so I'm sure he's thankful for that one!

**CHAx2: **Thanks!

**ViciousQuestionMark: **Thanks, and I apologize for the OOCness. I knew when I first started writing this that they were a little bit, but after going back and reading it, I realized that it's a bit more extensive than I meant for it to be. Thanks for pointing that out to me, and I'll try to make them seem a tad more like themselves in the chapters to come!

Now that the new year has officially begun, updates, while still regular, may fall into a pattern of sorts, with a longer wait time between chapters. The wait time won't be long (three or four days at most), so don't panic about that. Also, along with the schedule of my busy life, I've got twenty-three (I know, a lot, but what can I say? I'm an avid reader! But those may be…just _may _be too much for me to tackle…_shifty look_) fics waiting to be read. A lot of them are actually pretty good, and can be found on my favorites here on FF dot NET. I know and understand how hard good fics are to find (especially HD), so I've taken it upon myself to inform my readers of any good pickings I find. Any fics that I've read and enjoyed and would like to recommend to you can be found on my favorites list, which is slowly but steadily growing. I'd also like to ask that anyone who finds any good HD fics tells me about them, because I'm always ready for another one (even though I know I should be working on an update for this one; sorry, but an author's got to have her inspiration, you know?)

And now on with the fic!

**Chapter Nine**

**Voldemort's New Body**

A few Chocolate Frogs and jokingly thrown insults later, Harry lay on his back on the bed he and Draco shared, Hermione sat in the bed that was supposed to be Draco's, and Draco was in the bathroom, and had been for the past fifteen minutes.

Harry looked at Hermione thoughtfully, then said, "Why did you come early?"

Hermione shrugged. "Well, I just had to get away. Ron and Lavender were in the Common Room snogging it up, and I just couldn't take it. Ron's about to be a father, and it seems to me as though one child just isn't enough for him. Apparently, he wants one from every girl in Gryffindor, because every time I walk into a room, he's with someone new. Did you know he's even supposedly "hooked up" with one of the first years? That's just disgusting!"

Harry pulled a face and nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry, Hermione."

Hermione snorted. "Don't be, Harry. It's not your fault Ron's being an arse. He's just so thick headed, you know? Sometimes I just wish I could…urgh!"

Harry smiled as he watched Hermione reach up for her hair and give it a firm tug. Just then, Draco stepped out of the bathroom. Hermione eyed him beseechingly. "Must you spend _all _of your time in the bathroom?" She asked exasperatedly.

Draco sent a glare at her. "Yes," He answered shortly. "I must look _presentable _at all times."

Hermione sighed. "You _do _look presentable, Malfoy. The only person who seems to think you don't is you."

"Look, Granger. Nose out, okay? I don't need you snooping about in my business all the time."

At Hermione's hurt look, Harry glared at his soul mate. "She was only trying to be civil." He said coldly, sitting up and reaching between the two beds to rub Hermione's shoulder softly. When Hermione chanced another glance at Draco, he was leaning over his trunk and digging noisily for a pair of trainers.

"Hey, Hermione," Harry said, turning her attention to him. "Didn't you say something about explaining how you knew about everything in that letter of yours?"

Hermione perked slightly, and launched into a long and (seemingly, though only to Draco, who found such petty things annoying rather than interesting; partially because he already knew the information Hermione was sharing with Harry because of an owl he had received earlier that morning from Blaise himself while Hermione and Harry had been having a pillow fight of sorts) boring tale about how she had come across the information she had so willingly shared with her fellow Gryffindor.

"You see, Blaise and I ran into each other just yesterday. He wondered why I wasn't here visiting you guys, and inadvertently told me that he didn't come because he knew that I would be here, and didn't want any uncomfortable situations for Draco, even though he made it clear that if it wouldn't make Draco uncomfortable, he'd love to come up and bother you."

Hermione's face scrunched up in a look between disgust and humor. "Well we got into a little fight, and he yelled at me about how you stole Pansy's rightful position as Draco's quote, unquote, 'lover', and went into avid details about exactly why Pansy was allowed to label herself as such. Anyway, he said that he, Pansy and a few others were coming after dinner tonight to visit, so I decided that I'd better come to keep you company in case they decided to give you grief."

Hermione beamed proudly, and Harry's brow scrunched up in concentration. This information was a little bit much to process. "And," Hermione continued. "He also seemed to be warming up to me a bit." Hermione blushed softly and looked away, and Harry shot her a surprised look.

"What do you mean, 'warming up to you', Hermione? Are you out of your mind?"

Hermione turned an even brighter pink, and Harry's gaze softened. "And what about Ron?" Hermione scoffed, and Harry apologized quickly with his eyes. "I mean…what about Krum?"

"Harry, I've told you and Ronald both before that we're just friends! He's got a little crush on me, but I've told him straight out that I didn't want to be in a relationship with him because of the long distance. I don't do well being apart from people I love for extended periods of time, you know that. Besides, when he asked me out…I sort of had a thing going with Ron." Hermione looked away wistfully, and Harry sighed.

"Look, Hermione. I don't care who you date, I just don't want you turning up in tears like you did the other day. Ron's put you through enough. He's still my best friend, but sometimes he's really thick-headed. I'm just looking out for you, you know?"

Hermione nodded. "I know."

"She doesn't need you to look after her, Potter," Draco cut in bitterly, breaking the comfortable moment of silence between the two Gryffindors. "What she needs is someone she can love who will protect her no matter what; someone who will be smart enough to realize that the baby she's carrying is his."

Hermione glared at him, knowing that he had hit the nail on the head, but unwilling to admit it.

"Look," Hermione said defensively. "I still have feelings for Ron, I won't deny it, but I know that if he's stupid enough to think for even one minute that I would sneak around behind his back like that, then I don't think I should stay; especially if my daughter's on the line."

Harry rubbed his eye with the heal of his hand and sighed. "I know, and I'm trying, Hermione, really _trying _to be accepting of the fact that Ron's gone and ruined it all and doesn't seem to care."

"He's the jealous type, clearly." Draco stated, as if that explained it all. He sat on his bed beside Hermione, and didn't notice the identical looks of shock that both Harry and Hermione shot him. Pulling on one trainer, Draco looked up and said, "We all know that Hermione's the devoted type, and if Weasel thinks that she'd mess around, she's better off without him." as he pulled on the other one.

Harry blinked, confused at the change in Draco's demeanor. It was as if he was explaining things to a small child, but on the other hand, he was trying to comfort Hermione; something that he would have never done a year before. Hermione smiled softly, catching on to what Draco was saying, and thankful that Draco was attempting to make things better.

"Besides," Draco continued when neither had said a word. "Zambini likes her." Hermione's mouth dropped open, Harry's eyes widened to the size of saucers, and Draco continued to tie his trainers as if this was something that was mentioned every day, like the weather or the latest Quidditch scores.

"He…he _what_?" Hermione asked finally, mouth still agape. It looked as though she was about to fall out of the bed, and Harry was worried for her safety; if she fell to the floor, she may freeze to death before she could get back up (the floor was rather cold, though Harry might have been exaggerating…a little…).

Draco looked at her with a brow raised. "Are you deaf as _well _as muggle-born?"

Hermione rolled her eyes and glared. "Oh, shut up."

Draco smirked. "Gladly," With that, he walked back into the bathroom and the tap could be heard running as he brushed his teeth.

"You know, Harry," Hermione said, staring at the open bathroom door fondly. "Draco's not that bad." Harry nodded and Draco could be heard through the bathroom, shouting (albeit slightly muffled because of the toothbrush that was jammed in his mouth).

"Don' call me Dra'o!"

Hermione grinned widely and pulled out her knitting, which looked much better now than it had last time.

"Booties," She commented as she charmed the needles to knit for her.

Harry smiled and-

Pain. Hot, searing pain, enough to tear a being in two, originated from his forehead. It spread through his body like wild fire, scorching his limbs to numbness, turning his stomach to a churning, broiling mess. He couldn't breathe, and the walls were closing in. And what was that large, bushy creature before him? The edges of Harry's vision began to fade, closing off his vision until all he could see was blackness. All noise was lost on Harry's ears as the two people in the room tried desperately to get him back into a state of consciousness. It was then that Harry blacked out.

Draco looked down at the prone body on the floor, his eyes telling more than his expression and body language ever would; he was worried. Hermione continued to shout at Harry, profanities and any other thing that had ever worked before to get her friend to start breathing again, and Draco just stood there, eyes wide. His own scar was pulsing slightly, and a couple of times after Harry had blacked out, Draco could feel a phantom of pain licking at his forehead, but he was sure that it was nothing compared to what Harry must have experienced just moments before.

The seconds ticked away. Harry was unconscious, not breathing, and Hermione had already gone for help, leaving Draco and Harry alone. Each moment that passed was another moment taken from Harry's life, and if he didn't take a breath soon, Draco was sure that the dwindling existence would soon fade into nothingness. Draco kneeled beside Harry's prone body, tears sparkling in his eyes. He didn't know the extent of the injury, or what had caused Harry to black out like he had, so he didn't dare try to do a spell to make it better. But if he didn't do something soon…

_Xxx_

Harry was aware of falling off of the bed he had previously been seated on. He was aware of the blinding pain of the scar on his forehead as he was dragged into this world of half life; the abode of none other than Voldemort himself. Nothing had ever felt so cold to Harry; so lifeless and unfeeling as this place that Voldemort called home. Harry could easily believe that he was in the inner workings of Voldemort's mind itself.

With a shudder, Harry glanced around him. There was nothing. It was an expanse of red and black swirling nothingness; death and despair, but not belonging to Voldemort. And it reeked of sweat and blood, neither belonging to Voldemort either. Harry could catch glimpses of the countless people Voldemort had murdered in cold blood, flickering in dark corners of the abyss until he turned to look directly at them. They always disappeared as he looked, but he always caught the looks of horror and fear on their faces, plastered there for eternity. And Voldemort's high-pitched laugh rang loudly, echoing continuously and becoming louder with each echo until Harry just wanted to either rip his ears off or scream.

Harry closed his eyes tightly, willing the images to go away, willing Hermione's face and the sea-green booties back into his mind, hoping that once he opened them Hermione would be there and she would ask if he were okay. But he knew it wouldn't happen. Voldemort had him in his grasp, open and vulnerable, unable to protect himself, and Harry knew Voldemort would use this to his advantage.

When Harry finally opened his eyes, the tall figure of Voldemort stood directly in front of him, only meters away. "Harry,"

Harry winced at his own name being voiced in the high-pitched banter of Voldemort, and shuddered when he felt the long, cold, bony fingers that Harry remembered so well caressing first his cheek, then his scar. "How wonderful to see you again. How long has it been? Three years…ah, how much you've grown." Voldemort grabbed Harry by the chin and held his face in place, his fingers cold to the touch, but burning straight through to the bone like a hot iron when they made contact. "Three long years; they have surely taken their toll on you. But look at me." Harry averted his eyes.

"_Look _at me." Voldemort demanded fiercely, his grip on Harry's chin tightening. Harry looked, and couldn't restrain the violent tremors that ran through him at the sight of Voldemort, now restored to his full glory.

Where there had once been two slits for a nose, a normal, slightly hooked nose appeared; not belonging to Voldemort himself. His eyes, once red, were now an ungodly black color, shimmering lifelessly. There was no white in his eyes, and it gave him the eerie look of being dead. His cheeks were sallow and hollowed out, dark purple shadows lingering along his prominent cheek bones, giving him an oddly haunting demeanor. His strong jaw stuck out, uneven as though it had been broken a number of times, and his chin pointed out angrily. None of these belonged to Voldemort himself, but he bore them proudly. His wavy black hair had grown out to shoulder length, and swept about his shoulders angrily, violently tattered and uneven at the ends, as though it had been hacked off while Voldemort had been sleeping. His body, lean and muscular in shape, was also taller than Harry remembered. Voldemort was a ghostly pale color, decked out in long, billowing black robes.

"You…you've stolen these body parts!" Harry said, fright seeping into his voice and interlacing with an anger that he hadn't known was there.

Voldemort chuckled. "It was necessary." He replied, picking at one of the soiled fingernails on his right hand.

Harry reached for his back pocket where his wand had been moments earlier, only to find a quill and a Sickle.

"Looking for something?" Voldemort asked, waving Harry's wand about in his face with an evil glimmer to his glowing black eyes.

Harry reached for his wand desperately. "Ah, ah, ah!" Voldemort tisked, pulling the wand out of reach and casting an unknown spell on Harry. Harry was frozen in place, his feet taking root in the floor. His arms were yanked above him, his legs spread, and everything on his being, excluding his own clothing, was torn from his body.

The Sickle and the quill went flying at Voldemort, followed by a necklace he had owned since he had been ten, having found it at a local park while forced to watch Dudley play on the swings one bright, shining day when the Dursleys had promised a trip to the park but couldn't find a susceptible baby-sitter for Harry. The laces in his trainers, followed by the muggle watch he wore regardless of it's inability to function on Hogwarts property, and finally Harry's glasses all went zooming towards Voldemort's head, only to be caught, mid-air, in Voldemort's hands as he let Harry's wand fall to the ground.

"Hmm…don't carry many things on us, do we?" Voldemort asked, fingering the silver chain of the necklace curiously. "How fitting that the wizard destined to defeat me has no back up plans available when he needs them most." Voldemort sneered, his thin lips pulling back harshly and revealing disgusting, crooked, yellowed teeth in a bad excuse for a jeer.

"Harry. Harry! HARRY! Please, Harry, wake up!" …Was that Malfoy's voice?

Harry was pulled bodily from Voldemort's dwellings, and found himself staring blearily into four concerned faces. "What did you see, Harry? Was it Voldemort?"

"'Mione?" Harry asked, his voice a croak.

"Move aside, move aside! He needs air, move aside! Now, Harry, dear, don't try to talk, okay? Just stay still, let me check you up, all right? Mmm, good. My, but your head's awfully hot. And what about your hands? They're right frigid!"

"Madam-"

"No talking, Harry! Now, everything will be all right. You were under for a while. I was quite worried when you didn't wake up right after I gave you the potion; thought it may be defective. But I can see clearly that it's done its duties. Good thing, that potion." Madam Pomfrey trailed off, still mumbling things incoherently to herself as she sporadically touched Harry's forehead, felt his pulse, and crammed multiple potions on the bedside table, each vial waiting for Harry to drink their contents.

"Draco?" Harry moaned as his eyes fluttered shut, then opened painfully, only to close once more.

"Right here, Harry. Right here." Draco assured, clutching tightly to Harry's hand and not letting go, even when Madam Pomfrey jostled him out of her way on her hurry to her office to check her charts on Harry's health to see if he was allergic to anything that she had overlooked in her frenzy to revive him.

Hermione had grabbed onto Harry's other hand and was holding on for dear life, her grip tightening with every word that was spoken. "Oh, Harry! Are you all right? Please tell me that you're all right!"

Harry's eyes slitted open slightly, and he whispered, "I'm…I'm all right." A small smile curved his lips, and Hermione threw herself at him, sobbing into his arms.

"Oh, Harry! You were…and then…and you kept saying his name! It was so…so….Oh, Harry!" Hermione spouted, her ready tears quickly wetting Harry's shirt.

Draco watched the proceedings silently, lips pursed.

Hermione continued to sob into Harry's chest. Harry patted her back reassuringly, and met Draco's eyes with an air of confusion. Draco nodded, shrugged, and sat in a chair that had been summoned by someone amidst all the commotion, still grasping tightly to Harry's hand as Hermione continued to spill her heart and shed her tears on Harry's already sopping chest.

**A/N: **Sorry about it being short. More explanations will be revealed in the next chapter, so stay tuned.


	10. The Everafter Rose

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** This story will contain slash (i.e. male/male relationships) and mpreg (but not until later). If you don't like these things, I'd advise you not to read this fic! Thanks!

**A/N:** I have read all of the HP books, and all of them are relevant to this fic in some way, but some of the things that have happened in HBP will not happen until later in this fic, so please acknowledge that.

This chapter was posted late because of some errors on my part. I had to go back and edit it because of some parts I found lacking, and that is the reason it's so late. My apologies! I hope to make up for this by posting a chapter with extra slashy goodness for all of my adoring fans out there:Primps and grins as she shows off the chapter:

I have a bad feeling that, against my wishes, this fic is coming to a close. Although I wanted it to be longer, some of the things that have happened in this chapter I didn't want to happen until much later. But, the package that Harry receives in this chapter is proving to be quite relevant to later chapters in this fic, so it may help to make it longer than I have planned at present moment.

I have another fic in the process of being written, but I've decided to wait until it's finished to post it, that way we can be sure there will be regular, scheduled updates and no one will have to wait. It's going to be HD slash again, this time dealing with self-harm, rape and abuse. I've read many very good fics about these subjects, and have decided to write one of my own. If you're interested, leave me a review, or just check back for it later (the estimated time that this fic will be posted is around March or April, but it may be before then if we're lucky).

**SilverShadow5947: **Wish granted, though I would have liked to put more in. Have no fear! In the coming chapters, there will be more smutt than you can shake a fist at!

**Chapter Ten**

**The Everafter Rose**

Moments before Blaise walked into the room, he could hear the sobbing. He knew it probably wasn't a good idea to intrude; Hermione was probably upset because of another thing the mangy Weasel had said, and he didn't want to be caught up in the middle of things. That was why he was so surprised when he walked in to find that Harry was laying there on a very rumpled-looking bed, staring up at the ceiling blindly, with Hermione sobbing into her hands by his bedside and Draco clutching his hand as if his life depended on it.

"Er…what's going on in here? Someone die?" Blaise asked jokingly as he cautiously entered the room, Pansy inches behind, followed by several other Slytherins.

The residents in the room all but ignored him as Harry continued on with his explanations. "It was him, 'Mione. I know it was. He may have other peoples' body parts, but underneath it all, it was him. His voice was the same; his fingers were the same," Harry shuddered at this, remembering the way the cold fingers had felt trailing along his scar. His unoccupied hand went up and he traced his scar softly, as touching it himself would override Voldemort's touch; it didn't help. Harry could still feel the fingers as they brushed the lightning shape, hear the rattle of indrawn breath as Voldemort felt the hidden power in Harry. "He still has the same goals, and he'll kill anyone or do anything to reach them. They aren't really even goals any more, 'Mione. They're…I don't know what they are. He's gone mad."

Blaise's brow drew together in confusion. "Uh, Malfoy…what is Potter talking about?"

Draco's eyes burned deeply into Blaise. _I knew we shouldn't have come early! _Blaise thought to himself with a curse, stopping in his tracks as he watched Hermione continue to cry.

"Harry, I know that he's not completely sane at the moment, but the fact remains that he wants to kill you. We know that if you're going to die at all, you've got to die by his hand, and he's got to die by yours, but Harry, I'm scared for you. He's getting stronger; two years without action is the perfect plan, no matter how insane he's gone. He's leading the whole Wizarding world into a false sense of security, and he's biding his time. I just…I can't lose you! You and my family are all I've got!" Hermione wailed, and Harry patted her shoulder reassuringly.

Draco clenched his eyes shut tightly, willing Hermione to stop her god-awful banshee-cries. When they persisted, Draco sighed. "Granger, bloody stop! He's not dying _tonight_! It was just a…a…" Draco trailed off, unable to think of what it was that Harry had experienced.

"Harry," Hermione pulled away unexpectedly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffing softly. Harry looked at her, a confused look plastered on his face. "Did you ever complete your Occlumency?" Hermione asked, as she shot worried and suspicious look.

"Er…" Harry looked away.

"You didn't! Why not? After Voldemort killed Sirius, you've left yourself vulnerable again? What possibly for?"

Harry looked at Hermione, his face stony. "Voldemort didn't kill Sirius. I did."

"Harry, it's not your fault he fell!" Hermione exclaimed, clutching the hand that Draco wasn't tightly. "There was nothing you could have done!"

"It was my fault he was there to begin with!" Harry burst out, sitting and releasing both Draco and Hermione's hands with a glare.

"But if you had just finished your Occ-"

"Don't give me that bull shit! Snape was being a bloody git about it! He wouldn't tell me how; he wouldn't even let me have one sacred memory! Nothing! He made me re-live everything! Cedric's death, Voldemort's resurrection, Ripper, Du-"

"What's Ripper?"

Harry glared scathingly at Pansy, who had chosen that moment to interrupt. "That's beside the point!" He shrieked, standing and stomping around the room in an almost violent pace.

"You mean…you were studying Occlumency instead of Remedial Potions?" Draco asked, catching on.

Harry turned his glare to Draco, then shot from the room and into the bathroom with a quickly muttered "I've got to think."

Hermione stared after him, aghast.

Draco turned his look towards Hermione. "He was, wasn't he?"

Hermione shifted unconsciously. "Uh…I'm not at liberty to say," She said. With that, she turned and rushed past Blaise, bumping shoulders with him in the process.

Pansy sighed. "Draco, what's Ripper?"

Draco's brow furrowed. "I don't know," He said. "But it sounds like a name to me."

**XXX**

Harry sat on the toilet, seat down, staring out one of the windows. At first he had convinced himself that he would leave the room once all of Draco's friends left. That had been two hours ago, however, and Harry had yet to leave. Hermione had come back, knocking on his door and talking to nothing for over an hour and a half, and once she got no results, she too had left. It was now eleven o'clock. Harry was sure that Draco was sleeping, as the lights were off, but he didn't really want to leave the safety of the bathroom.

With a sigh, he stood and creaked the door open softly. Glancing around the room, Harry was surprised to find Hermione curled up and snoring softly in a bed far away from the one he slept in, and Draco laying on his back in Harry's bed, eyes open and staring at the ceiling unseeingly. Harry sighed again and made his way towards his own bed. Draco unglued his eyes from the roof and looked at Harry questioningly. Harry nodded to him; they both felt the need for words disappear as Harry slowly climbed into the bed and wrapped his arms loosely around Draco's waist. Draco nuzzled his head into the junction between Harry's neck and shoulder, and Harry inhaled deeply as Draco placed a soft kiss there.

"Your vision…it scared me, _so _much. I thought I was going to lose you. You stopped breathing for nearly half an _hour_!"

Harry looked at him, begging Draco with his eyes for him to not go into that subject.

"I love you. You _know _that, right?" Draco's whispered voice was muffled, his hot breath warming Harry's skin in a highly arousing way.

Harry blinked in surprise and his brow furrowed. "Don't say that," He protested. "Don't say it if it's not true."

"I do, Harry. I didn't want to at first, but you can't fight your destiny. You know that better than anyone."

"Just because we're soul mates-"

"Means that I have every right to love you and you have every right to return that love, and oh gods I just want to shag you silly right now." Draco interrupted, licking Harry's neck lovingly.

Harry smiled softly and pulled away. Ignoring Draco's last comment, Harry pulled Draco into a loose hug before standing and going to Draco's unoccupied bed. "No," Harry reasoned. "Just because we're soul mates doesn't mean that you need to-"

"Harry, just think about this for a minute, okay?" Draco asked as he attempted to follow Harry.

"Shut up!" Hermione mumbled as she rolled over on the bed diagonal to Harry's. "Do you have any idea how hard it was for Draco to tell you that, Harry? It took him nearly half an hour just to get to terms with the fact that-"

"Thank you very much for interrupting, Granger, but I think I've got everything under control!" Draco intervened before Hermione could say anything that may wound his dignity.

"Psh." Hermione scoffed. "Whatever. I was just trying to help. I'm going back to sleep. And no shagging while I'm here, thank you very much! Ron and I restrained ourselves while we were in your presence, and I expect for you to do the same!"

Harry paled at the thought of Hermione and Ron doing anything besides snogging, and Draco laughed softly, pulling Harry into a tight hug. "I really do love you, Harry." He said.

"But why?" Harry asked as he returned the hug. "You don't have to! And this is all really sudden."

Draco smiled against Harry's neck and kissed it again, this time his lips lingering as they made their way up Harry's neck and jaw towards his lips. "It may be sudden to you," Draco said between kisses. "But it's not to," He paused as he caught Harry's lips with his own. The kiss was searing but loving and Harry never wanted it to end, but it was over before the bat of an eye. "Me," Draco finished, and not too soon, because as soon as he was done, Harry pulled his head towards his own again and claimed Draco's lips roughly, knocking Draco back onto his own bed with Harry settled between his thighs, his very hard member making itself feel right at home settled up against Draco's own as their kiss progressed.

Draco couldn't suppress a moan of content, and Hermione made a very annoyed sound in her throat. "It's great that you two have made up and all, but could you please either do it more quietly or _stop_?" she asked, rolling over once again, this time so that she was facing away from the making out couple.

When Draco finally managed to pull away, he panted out, "No. And if you didn't want to hear us, you shouldn't have decided to stay the night!" before pulling Harry back down to him for another heated snog.

Hermione grumped to herself about horny gits and how they should rot in hell, but refrained from any more comments. When Harry finally pulled away again, Draco relented and put a privacy and silencing spell around them. When Harry was assured that he could talk, he grinned down at Draco and with a painful groan, said, "I wish we had curtains. It'd be a hell of a lot more private."

With a suggestful wiggling of his brows, Draco grinned and complied. He held up his hand and their bed turned into an exact replica of the one he had in his own dorm room; a large, dark four-poster with emerald-green drapes and linens, and silver covers. The drapes were tugged shut quickly, and Harry grinned down at him again before devouring his mouth once more.

When Harry pulled away once more, Draco set to work removing Harry's shirt, and Harry leaned down and made a meal of Draco's throat, appreciative groans making themselves known as Harry slowly worked his way lower, until he was finally at Draco's collar bone. "You know what?" Harry asked between nips and licks, as Draco continued to try to divest Harry of his shirt, which was quickly becoming too tight and clingy.

"Hmm?" Draco asked in answer. His hands were slowly making no progress because of the lewd actions Harry was performing, and Harry smirked down at the powerful look of defeat on Draco's face.

"I…I love you too."

All action stopped as Harry looked up into Draco's eyes expectantly, and Draco's eyes clouded over. He had to blink multiple times before he could even begin to fathom what Harry had just said to him. When his throat began working again, Draco managed a short, "I," Before Harry placed a finger to his lips, only to replace his finger with his own lips shortly after.

:_I know_.: The thought rang in Draco's head for a few moments before he realized that it wasn't his own.

_xxx_

Hermione grinned as she watched Draco's bed transform out of the corner of her eye. Had she not been so busy pretending to be disgusted by the fact that Harry and Draco were kissing on the other side of the drapes, she would have leapt for joy at the fact that she knew that Harry had just proclaimed his love to Draco, too.

_xxx_

The next morning, Hermione was up long before either of the boys, and she was sure they had been having a short tryst between the sheets before they got up, because their hair and clothing looked rumpled, and neither seemed to be grouchy like they usually were in the mornings.

"Morning," She greeted as a sleepy Harry scratched his head unconsciously and a tired-but-happy-looking Draco reached between his legs and scratched his balls through his boxer shorts. Hermione shot him a disgusted look, and Draco grinned as he seated himself across from Harry at the table for breakfast.

About mid-way through the meal, two owls soared through one of the cracked-open windows. One landed in front of Hermione, and the other landed in front of Harry. Hermione nodded her thanks to the bird and took her subscription of the _Daily Prophet _from it, making sure to tip it generously before unfolding her copy and burying her face in it until breakfast was over.

The second owl looked at Harry expectantly and held out a leg to him, to which was tied a medium sized package, wrapped in a thin brown parchment. A note was tied to the package, and Harry looked at it questioningly. The owl shook his leg in annoyance and waited not-so-patiently for Harry to untie the package from it. Instead of flying off after the package had been taken away, like Hermione's had after being paid, the owl stayed there, sitting in the middle of a plate full of eggs, and stared at Harry.

Harry offered it some money, but the bird refused, instead looking at the package intently, waiting for it to be opened.

Harry raised a brow at Draco, who nodded and looked at the package curiously. Harry shrugged and tore the paper off of the package. He was surprised to find a rose instead of the miniature broomstick he had been expecting from Bill Weasley, whom he had asked for one before they came back to school.

The rose was a dark black, velvety and soft. There were thorns sticking out from the stem, and they looked elegant instead of the normal wildness Harry usually associated with rose thorns.

Hermione looked over the top of her paper, and down at the rose, a look of awe quickly dawning on her face. She and Draco's eyes met and they shared a look, and Harry blinked at them in confusion. "I know what that is," Hermione elaborated after a moment. "I read about it in _A Flower's Power_ last year. That's an Everafter Rose! They're supposed to be really rare; the last one ever spotted by any wizard was in 1382 by Elmer Vandini after bonding with his soul mate. You two haven't bonded yet, have you?" Hermione asked, brow furrowed as she looked at Harry and Draco with an unreadable expression.

"No!" Harry choked out over his mouthful of pancake, cheeks flushing.

"Hmm…" Hermione nodded thoughtfully before pulling the paper back over her face for the rest of the meal, leaving Harry and Draco to themselves.

"They symbolize great love and heartache." Draco said after a moment's lull. "My father gave my mother a replica of one last year for their anniversary. It's said that they've died out. You could make a fortune off of that if you sold it to the right person; they're bloody powerful, and if used in the correct love potion, the petals can make anyone fall in genuine love with you."

Harry looked at Draco, a look of calculation in his eyes. "You mean, this one's real?"

Draco nodded as he took a bite of his porridge. "You'd better keep it away from Snape," He said, mouth full and words muffled through the sounds of smacking lips and chewing teeth as the porridge was worked around in his mouth.

"Why?" Harry asked, picking it up and examining it closely.

"He'd kill to get a hold of it, that's why." Draco said as he took another bite of his breakfast, followed by a large gulp of coffee to wash it down with. "Do you know the types of potions that could be performed with just a clipping of a petal off of that? They're nearly immortal; the only thing that can kill them are great blokes! They make any potion ten times better, and can hardly ever be traced because of their rarity."

Harry blinked thoughtfully, twirling the rose around in his fingers before taking a bite of sausage. With a smile directed towards Draco, Harry put the rose down beside his plate, crumpled up the paper in which it had come in, threw it over his shoulder, and gone back to his neglected breakfast with a vigor that he hadn't had before.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Uh, Draco, it's not 'great blokes' that kill them." She said superiorly. "It's slate smoke."

Draco glared at her, cheeks flaming with embarrassment, and Harry grinned.

"Slate smoke?" Harry asked.

Hermione nodded. "Slate smoke is caused by hexing Orphius Mortalicus, a plant that grows in dark humid places, with a growth charm. The smoke is slate colored and thick in texture; it smells like dead fish, and is highly toxic when breathed by any type of mammal."

"Someone must have put a hex on my books to make them change letters around," Draco mumbled, stuffing his mouth with more porridge to cover up the fact that his cheeks were a bright red.

Hermione smiled. "Your embarrassment more than makes up for what you two did last night." She said smugly, then folded her paper and stood. "Oh, and you might want to get rid of that bed before Madam Pomfrey comes in here today. She won't be too pleased to know that you're already breaking the rules again so soon after falling from your brooms after bumping into each other accidentally/on purpose and breaking nearly every bone in your bodies."

Harry blinked in confusion and Draco looked at her, brow raised. "That's what she's been saying we've done to get us locked up in here?"

"That and that you've got Dragonorrhea. Which doesn't even exist, by the way. According to her, it's a very serious, very deadly case of sickness with flu-like, gonorrhea-like symptoms. It's very contagious, so she's given you both your own ward, and has to come in here with a Bubble-Head charm along with many other charms that keeps your symptoms contained, so that she won't catch it herself."

Draco and Harry's eyes met, looks of frantic panic shot towards the other. "But it's okay, though." Hermione reassured. "You should be all better by the time school lets out at the end of the year. Maybe if you're lucky, you'll be better before then!" Hermione walked off laughing madly.

Harry blinked, threw down his fork, and picked up the rose he had received. Draco looked after Hermione, a disgusted look on his face. "I'm so glad you're finding such humor in this." He said dryly, standing and vanishing the food away.

"Humor?" Crowed Hermione. "I'm finding more than that! I mean, look at you! Neither of you have completed the bond, but it's so bleeding obvious that you want to!" Hermione cracked up into more peals of laughter, collapsing in the bed she had slept in the previous night, newspaper falling to cover her face.

Draco glared at her, before a look of smug contemplation dawned. "You want us to complete the bond, you say? Right now?"

Hermione's eyes widened and she yanked the newspaper from her face as she sat up in shock. "You wouldn't!"

Draco smirked, then grabbed an unsuspecting Harry, who was busy burying the rose deeply but carefully into his trunk, by the waist and yanking him into a heated kiss that melted his bones and turned his legs to jelly.

Harry moaned as he finally began to respond to the kiss, arms reaching up to tangle into Draco's hair and rub along Draco's spine in a chillingly arousing way. Hermione groaned and made a noise in her throat, covering her eyes but peeking through the space between her fingers. When Draco finally pulled away, Harry collapsed into his chest without warning, rose all but forgotten at this new development.

Hermione sighed as she dropped her hands. "You have no idea how hot that is." She said yearningly, and Harry shot her a disgusted look from his position, hunched over so that his head was comfortably cradled lovingly against Draco's chest. Draco smiled smugly at her and absent-mindedly raked his hands through Harry's hair and drawing small patterns on Harry's back.

Hermione sighed and looked down at her paper. Her brow furrowed for a moment, before asking herself softly, "How did I miss that?"

Both Harry and Draco stood immediately, walking over to the bed Hermione was currently perched upon. Her eyes were sliding over the page quickly, the worry and fear in her eyes increasing with every moment there was silence in the room. Harry sat at the foot of the bed Hermione sat on and Draco sat on the bed beside hers as Hermione finished reading, then locked gazes with Harry. "Look," She said, handing the paper over to Harry to read.

"_**Two Charged with 7 Brutal Slayings in the London Area**_

_Two suspected Death Eaters were captured Saturday and charged in the brutal killings of seven people from two families, slayings that Aurors hadn't publicly tied together until now._

_Auror Chief Daniel Monroe said Augustus Rookwood and Willy Widdershin were charged with conspiracy to commit murder and the use of the Unforgivable **Crucio **curse, which is punishable by life in Azkaban, and taken into custody after they were spotted by a muggle driving a Nimbus 2002 that belonged to one of the victims._

_The bodies of Percyell Evans, 55; Sarah Baskerville, 47; and her daughter, Hannah Baskerville, 21, were found Friday bound with duct tape (a very handy, grey tape used by muggles for various things) in their ransacked home._

_It was a similar scene when the bodies of Stewart Harvey, 49; his wife, Kathryn, 39; and their two young daughters, Katie, 9, and Susan, 4, were found in their basement, bound with the grey tape and their throats cut._

_It is a curious thing that the causes of deaths were all muggle, but not unheard of in the now-common ransacking of Wizarding homes. _

_The investigation into Friday's triple homicide led Aurors to Rookwood and Widdershin, Monroe said. He said investigators also found evidence linking them to the four killings in the Harveys' home, but he declined to give specifics. It is believed that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was behind these heinous acts."_

Harry sighed as he read over the short article. Rubbing his eyes, he put the paper down and looked warily at Hermione. Draco snatched the paper from Harry and read over it, his eyes turning to a dull shade. "I knew Hannah," He said, eyes tearing up as he threw the paper against the wall. "She was getting married to one of my cousins down in London next week."

Hermione glanced sorrowfully at Draco, patting his back softly. "I'm sorry."

"Don't bloody tell me you're sorry!" Draco shouted at her, standing. "It's not your fault! Bloody Voldemort, going about as if he owns the place! He should rot in hell, that's what he _should _do! Sod off, Potter!" Draco exclaimed as Harry opened his mouth to comfort the fuming Slytherin. "I need to get out of here."

"I'm afraid that you can't leave, Mr. Malfoy."

Draco, Hermione and Harry all turned to the voice of Madam Pomfrey. "These crimes will not go unpunished, but they _will _go unpunished by _you_. I understand that you need some time to cool off, Mr. Malfoy. That is highly understandable, especially in your current situation. But I won't have you leaving this wing, especially in the state you're in."

Draco sighed. "Mr. Potter, if you'd come with me, please." Madam Pomfrey said with a nod to Harry. Harry gave her a small smile and fell into step beside her.

"Where are we going?" He asked.

"Professor Dumbledore's office. Now, if you'd do your best to look extremely sick, please?" Harry nodded and clutched his stomach, gritting his teeth and willing the blood-flow in his face to quicken. "Oh, by the way," Madam Pomfrey said absent-mindedly as she lead Harry to Dumbledore's office. "I love what you've done with the place."

Harry accomplished the flush he had been aiming for as the motion towards the newly placed bed was made by a grinning Madam Pomfrey.


	11. The Horcruxes

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning: **I'm sure that you all know that this fic is SLASH by now, so I'll stop warning you about this. **_Spoilers of HBP in this chapter and further chapters along the line! If you haven't read HBP yet, please do so before continuing on! _**

**_This chapter also contains _SLASHY, SLIGHTLY GRAPHIC _moments. You _have _been warned, so I ask that anyone who continues to read even _after _this warning does not complain about them. _**

**A/N: I have also started up a new account on _AFF dot net_, because the content in this and a few of my other fics have a large amount of sexual content. If you wish to read the NC-17 version of this and my future fics, please go there to do so. You will find me under the same pen name, so that I won't be hard to find. **_(I have posted this fic there if you wish to view the NC-17 version of it. Nothing changes up until this chapter, though, so in order to save you time from reading the whole thing, just jump to chapter 11.)_

In the course of nearly a week, the fic list that I am to read has grown to over 35! Thanks to all for the suggestions, keep them coming:_Greedily hogs all good fics to self_: lol, just kidding!

**FOR A GOOD READ, CHECK OUT: **_Bond_, by _Anna Fugazzi_, _My Hero_, by _XxRoGuExHeArTxX_, _Matchmaker, Matchmaker, Make Me a Match_, by _fantasylover12001_, and _I Can't Fight the Stars_, by _LMG_. More suggestions coming up, so keep a look out!

**Goddess**: I do apologize for that, as that article was where I got the idea for the news article in the fic. Thank you for pointing out that I forgot to put a disclaimer up, and I will do so now. I was going to, but it must have slipped my mind with all the other editing that I had to do. I am glad that you are continuing to read despite my mistakes.

**Disclaimer part 2**: Regarding the article in chapter 10. _© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. _(The idea was taken from it, so credit given where credit is due. Thanks to _Goddessoftheweb at hotmail dot com _for pointing this error out.)

_(1)Taken directly from HBP, page 501, hardback copy._

_(2)Taken directly from HBP, page 503, hardback copy. Quote taken from Harry and converted to fit this plot. _

_There may be other similarities between this chapter and chapter twenty-three in HBP, because I am trying to bring the idea of Horcruxes into the fic without much struggle in between. I apologize in advance for this. If there are any quotes or the like that I have not pointed out as belonging to JKR that were taken directly from that book or any of the others in the Harry Potter series, please do not hesitate to point this out, as I do not wish to steal any of JKR's work without giving her the credit that she so thoroughly deserves._

**Chapter 11**

**The Horcruxes**

Harry was led to Professor Dumbledore's office at a quick pace. He didn't even acknowledge the fact that his fellow school mates were throwing him looks filled with fear as they scurried away from him. Madam Pomfrey had warned him this would happen, and had performed a Bubble-Head charm on herself, along with multiple other spells to put protective shields up around Harry, both to "keep him safe from other bacteria" and to "keep the children of the school safe from the Dragonorrhea".

"Ah, Harry, welcome," Dumbledore greeted as Harry entered his office.

Harry nodded in greeting, and Madam Pomfrey smiled at them both before stepping out, probably on her way to collect more of the salve to heal burns, as burn victims were most often her usual customers in the Hospital wing. "You wanted to see me, sir?"

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed as he popped a Lemon Drop into his mouth, a contented yet tired sigh escaping as he did so.

"What about?"

"Harry, this is of utmost importance, you see." Dumbledore stated, albeit a tad muffed because of the candy he was happily sucking on. "As you know, Voldemort has not been very active as of late. I now know the reason for this, and though it may not be enough for the Wizarding world to relax just yet, I'm quite sure it will be very soon. You see, Voldemort has been using Horcruxes to survive." At Harry's questioning gaze, Dumbledore raised a hand and motioned for him to allow him to continue.

"A Horcrux, Harry, _is used to keep part of the self hidden and safe, not to fling it into somebody else's path and run the risk that they might destroy it_."

"Part of the self?" Harry asked, more confused than he had ever been in his life.

"Part of the soul," Dumbledore clarified, and Harry's eyes widened in surprise.

"So…Voldemort is…"

"Nearly immortal," Dumbledore confirmed, and Harry gasped.

"There were seven in all made; now, only two remain."

"Where could we find them?" Harry asked, desperate to know how he could destroy Voldemort once and for all.

"(2)_They could be found anywhere in the world_," Dumbledore stated, a morose look upon his face. "_hidden--buried or invisible--"_

Harry sighed at the severity of the situation; if Voldemort was immortal, that would mean that…

Harry shuddered to think about it. There was no hope for him; not anymore. He didn't have his soul shattered into millions of pieces and hidden all over the world.

Dumbledore looked at Harry over the rim of his glasses. "Do not worry about this, Harry. Four Horcruxes have been destroyed. Two others are very close to being located, and the seventh; that soul, Harry, resides in Voldemort's body itself. Once the other two Horcruxes have been destroyed, there is a _very _probable chance that you will win the war. Voldemort may allow you to kill him, if he knows, or _believes_, that his Horcruxes remain. Of course, I'm sure he won't go without giving up quite a fight, but if he thinks that the Horcruxes still exist he may be a bit more reckless than he would be if he knew that he no longer had any soul except for the one-seventh that resides in his own body. That is why the work done to destroy them is done in silent; no one knows about the Horcruxes but me and a select few, yourself included."

"Does Snape know?" Harry asked, suddenly alert.

Dumbledore glanced at him sternly. "_Professor _Snape, Harry. And yes, he does. I am only telling you these things because I believe that it is time you know; you _have _gone into dangerous situations without knowing the extent of the danger; you will no longer be allowed to do so, as I am trusting you with this information as I should have years ago. That is something that I will regret until my dying day, Harry, and for that I deeply apologize."

Harry looked at Dumbledore, shock written clearly across his face. Dumbledore gave him a weary smile, then stood. "Harry, if you will." Dumbledore gestured for Harry to stand, and Harry complied.

Dumbledore reached across his desk to shake hands with Harry. The handshake was strong and lasted for quite a few moments. Dumbledore's hands were warm and dry, worn and calloused. Harry smiled at him lightly, and Dumbledore's eyes twinkled. "Please, return to your current residence. I hear that the owl you received this morning has not left Hermione alone since you left; it wants you to read that note attached to the package you've received recently, and refuses to leave without you doing so. Hermione refuses to read the note, and Mr. Malfoy's disappeared into the bathroom again, so I do hope that you hurry."

Harry's eyes widened in panic as he rushed from Dumbledore's office hurriedly, and Dumbledore smiled softly as he watched the boy that was so much like a son to him take off without so much as a backwards glance.

**XXX**

When Harry got back to the hospital wing, two things caught his eye at once; one, Hermione was guarding her bushy head with what looked to be Harry's Muggle Studies book, and two, Draco must have come out of the bathroom in the time it took for Harry to get back to his current residence, because he was now pointing and laughing merrily at Hermione, who was being pecked at relentlessly by the brown owl that had come bearing Harry's package.

Hermione was the first to spot him. "Harry, make it stop!" She cried, running past a still laughing Draco. The laughing caught the owl's attention, and soon it lost interest in Hermione for a more active prey: Malfoy. Draco's eyes widened suddenly, and he shot a glare at Hermione before retreating into the safety of the bathroom with a slam of the door, which the owl ran into.

Harry chuckled. When the owl recovered from the blow, it actively shot towards Harry, reminding him of Ron's owl, Pig. His laugh stopped short as the ball of fluff rammed straight into him, the force almost knocking him over.

"Okay, okay! Let me find it first! Merlin!" Harry said, pushing the owl off of him and glaring at it before looking over at the table on which one thing sat; the note.

It was folded in half, but didn't have an envelope. The parchment itself was normal, but it was gold-edged, the script across it fancy, like one of those that Harry so often received from the Ministry for underage magic. But Harry was no longer underage, and he was still at school. Harry eyed it curiously, before Hermione let out a squawk and yelled at Harry to read it before the owl actually did some damage that was irreparable. Harry sighed and reached out for the note.

One last glance at Hermione told him that if he didn't read it soon, hexes would start flying, so he unfolded it and glanced at it. At first his eyes only skimmed over the words, but as realization finally dawned on him, his eyes shot up to glance at Hermione with a worried look on his face before quickly going back and re-reading the note he held in his hands.

Hermione approached him cautiously. "What…what does it say, Harry?"

"Uh…they've been…cleaning." Harry said, as if it would explain everything.

"Cleaning?" Hermione asked, confusion dawning on her face for the first time Harry could ever remember.

"The…house."

"You mean number twelve…?" Hermione trailed off and Harry nodded his affirmative. "Oh, Harry…I'm sorry."

Harry shook his head. "No, don't say that," He said, eyes shielded. "It's just that…I didn't think they'd get rid of everything so soon, you know? I…I guess I just thought they'd wait for me to do anything like that. I mean, it _is _my place, isn't it?"

Hermione sighed. "I know," She said, a stern look on her face. "They shouldn't have done anything without your permission. They could be getting rid of stuff that's very valuable to you!"

Harry shook his head. "No, it's not that." He said, staring down at the note wistfully.

"Well then, what is it?"

Draco cracked open the door to the bathroom warily after the commotion stopped suddenly, and he watched as Harry read over the note and conversed with Hermione, a look of pure grief written clearly on his face before his shields came up, covering all emotions.

"Horcruxes, Hermione."

Hermione blanched. "Harry, you can't-"

"Not me! Voldemort…he has them. You don't think I would do that, do you? I mean, I share a soul with Draco…wouldn't that affect him, too? Besides, I don't want to be half a creature like that bastard. I want to be completely human when I destroy him."

Draco noticed the resolve in Harry's voice. He had said when, not if. Draco sighed, staring at Harry, a mixture of emotion pooling into his normally unexpressive eyes.

"Harry…what do you mean "them"? Usually only one can be created…if it doesn't kill the wizard making them, that is."

Harry sighed, sorrow reflecting in his eyes. "Seven." He said. "He made seven of them. One of them is in his body…two have yet to be found, and the other four have already been destroyed…I don't know if he knows about the ones that have been destroyed yet, though."

Hermione looked at Harry, horror written clearly on her face. "Harry, you can't risk your life against that!"

"I've got to!" Harry said, his back stiff and his eyes hardening again. "It's in the prophesy, Hermione. I just…ugh, I have to!"

"What has the Wizarding community ever done for you, Harry?"

"Hermione, he's going to kill you!"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Harry-"

"No, Hermione! He's going to kill you, and he's going to kill everyone else. If I don't stop him, who will?"

"Harry, I-"

"I _know _that no one's ever done anything for me! I just want to be left _alone_; I want to be normal, but I _can't_! I haven't even had _one _school year without something happening to me. The Sorcerers Stone, The Chamber of Secrets, Sirius, The Tri-wizard Tournament, Sirius _dying_, Snape's freaking messed up potions book…and now soul mates and _Horcruxes_! Hermione, if I kill him, everything can be _normal_. I'll finally know what normal _feels _like!"

"Harry, shut up for a minute, okay!"

Harry glared at her for interrupting his rant, but clamped his mouth shut nonetheless.

"Okay, I get that he's going to kill me eventually; I also understand that you have to kill him. I just don't get why you have to do it now; you're so unprepared!"

"Hermione, I won't do it now. Just sometime soon. I've been working on my Occlumency, you know. I don't know if it works, because no one has been trying to read my mind lately, but I've been trying."

"Harry, that could be dangerous! You should only practice under strict supervision; you could hurt yourself otherwise!"

"Hermione, clearing my mind isn't dangerous."

"Yeah, and you'll be telling me that when you've forgotten why you're supposed to kill Voldemort if he decides to mess with your mind again."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione, I don't know what that child of yours is going to think. With your strictness, I'll bet she'll rebel against you constantly! Hey!"

Harry ducked a pillow that Hermione flung at him and laughed softly as Hermione began to chase him around the room. "Harry, you could never be normal!" Hermione screeched as she plucked a pillow from a vacant cot and threw it forcefully at Harry. "You're Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived! You're nearly immortal! You have a _soul mate_! Being normal is the least of your worries."

Hermione cackled evilly as she charmed two other pillows from empty bets to throw themselves at Harry repeatedly and then hefted another and started pounding it into Harry's back as he tried to block the other pillows and grab one for himself at the same time. No one noticed the owl leave through the still open window, or Draco watching Harry and Hermione thoughtfully as they got caught up in the tides of a full-out pillow war.

**XXX**

Hermione spent the night with Harry and Draco again. Even though she didn't have permission, she knew that she was welcome.

Draco had dejectedly lay down on his own bed when Harry had pushed him out of his in the midst of sleep before hogging all of the blankets to himself and covering the entire twin mattress with his body.

They had changed Draco's bed back to a hospital cot, and Harry had said that his bed was more comfortable than Draco's anyway, so he slept on, oblivious to the fact that Draco sulked in his bed, glaring at a peacefully sleeping Harry. Hermione smirked as she read one of the books she had brought with her, a _lumos_ spell lighting the area around her softly. Draco shot a glare her way, too.

"It's not funny, you know." Draco said with a glare.

"I know," Hermione said absently as she turned the page of the book she was reading.

Draco huffed and resumed glaring at Harry, hoping that somehow his glare would cause Harry to wake up and move over to make room for Draco to slip in beside him. Then, an even better idea came to mind. Climbing from his bed, Draco quietly padded over to Harry's, lifted the sheets that were wrapped around Harry, and climbed in between them, right on top of Harry himself.

"I'm still awake, you know," Hermione said as she glanced up from her book, turning the page again.

"Shh!" Draco said, grinning as Harry continued to sleep.

"Well, I am," Hermione whispered, glaring at Draco.

"I said be quiet!" Draco snapped. "I'm trying to do something."

Hermione looked at him questioningly. "Do what?"

"Do you _mind_?"

Hermione snorted and rolled over, summoning some hangings for around her bed and pulling them closed. Draco smirked and went back to the subject at hand.

Laying one hand on Harry's chest, Draco trailed it down to the elastic of his pajama bottoms. With a swift yank, Harry was rid of those. But he didn't notice, as he slept on. Draco grinned widely as Harry's body began responding to his touch even though Harry wasn't conscious of it. Palming Harry's now half-erect member, Draco leaned forward to kiss Harry sensually on the lips.

Harry blinked his eyes open blearily. _Wow, that dream was amazing._ He thought to himself. As he pondered over the dream, he ceased to notice that the pleasurable sensations had yet to stop even though he had woken up. He was nearly coherent as he felt Draco's tongue lapping greedily at the hollow of his neck. His eyes widened when they caught a wisp of Draco's blonde hair out of the corner of them.

"D-Draco?" Harry stuttered out.

"Mmm?" Draco's tongue traced a trail up Harry's throat to his jaw, lapping softly at a sensitive place.

"Wh-what are you _doing_?"

Draco pulled away slightly, hand still fondling Harry, and grinned down at him as he thrust gently against Harry's hip.

Harry's eyes widened and he glanced down to where Draco's fingers were slowly making their way to his balls.

"That didn't answer my question," Harry said, though it was hard to act annoyed when the object of your aggravation was straddling you, humping you, and fingering a place that had barely had any attention in nearly a week. A soft moan emitted from Harry as Draco smiled softly at him and leaned down to capture his lips, hand trailing up to the head of his now fully-erect member and twisting. That single motion alone sent chills through Harry's entire body.

"Much as I love you, Harry," Hermione said from the closed hangings around her bed. "I do wish you'd be more quiet."

Harry looked at Draco in surprise, before hissing, "She's still here, and you're on about _sex_!"

Draco smirked, twisted his hand again and causing Harry to moan loudly, even if it was against his will. "Much as he tries, Hermione," Draco said mockingly. "Harry just can't suppress himself! He's a screamer, you know."

Harry shot Draco a horrified look. Draco licked his lips seductively before descending to meet Harry's once again.

"Ugh!" Hermione cried, and seconds later, Draco could hear Hermione muttering a silencing spell on her hangings before everything on her side of the room went silent.

"I am not a screamer," Harry hissed out after his and Draco's lips parted again. His eyes fluttered as Draco twisted a final time before removing his hand and trailing kisses down Harry's chest towards his navel. His tongue dipped in teasingly, and Harry moaned at the loss of it as Draco continued to make a path of kisses down further.

At the first gentle lick at the head of Harry's dick, Harry let out a surprised yelp. By the second, Harry was a trembling mass of bones on the bed. And by the third, Harry was afraid he would come, spurting into Draco's parted mouth at any moment. Whimpering, he thrust up to meet Draco's mouth, but Draco pulled away with a scolding lilt to his voice, though obviously teasing.

"Now, now, Potter. One should be patient. This calls for an extra amount of punishment. I was going to be sparing, but now that you've decided to push your limits…" Draco trailed off as his grin turned into one equivalent to the one the Cheshire Cat always carried with him.

"What purpose did you have for-ah!-punishing me in the firs-sssssssssoh! Don't stop that!-place?"

"Talking out of turn, Potter. And ten points from Gryffindor for asking stupid questions."

"Hey!"

Draco returned to playing with Harry's dick, enjoying the silky hard feel of it. "Never question my reasons, Potter." He said, his unoccupied hand reaching down and grasping Harry's balls tightly, but not too tight. Harry gasped and Draco smiled widely, continuing his torture as he went to meet Harry's lips again.

Harry sighed against Draco's lips as he parted them, liking the feeling of being completely vulnerable to Draco's ministrations.

When their lips parted again, Harry looked down and noticed for the first time that Draco was still completely clothed.

"Draco," Harry mumbled, nearly incoherent because of the new pressure Draco had been applying to his arse hole.

"Mmm?"

"You're still dressed."

Draco pulled away again, a questioning look shot at Harry, who could hardly see straight, let alone decipher what the look was saying to him.

"What?" Harry asked, desperately reaching up to Draco and drawing him back down to meet his lips with his own. Draco shook his head, smiled softly, and lapped insistently at Harry's lips until they parted to allow Draco's tongue in. A soft sound of approval left Harry's throat as he pulled Draco as close as he could go.

**XXXXXXiXXXXXX**

**A/N:** Sorry about the late post and the cliff hanger, but if I had gone into any further detail, you would have had to wait another week, and I don't think anyone would have liked that very much. In the next chapter, Harry and Draco complete their bond! It's the least I can do, since I've made you all wait this long for it!


	12. The Mating Marks

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**Warning:** Spoilers of HBP. Some parts have been edited out of this chapter because of NC-17 rated content. If you wish to view the chapter in it's complete form, you can find a link on my profile.

**A/N (Please read): **Whew, sorry it's taken so long to update. This chapter certainly isn't as long as I would have liked for it to be, but I was hit by a major bout of writers block. Of course, you may be thinking, '_who gets writers block when writing a lemon?_' But when Draco and Harry consummated the bond, I wanted it to be a special moment, not only for them, but for my readers as well. I didn't want to write _just another lemon_. And so, here it is, the completion of the bonding. (To see full, uncensored version, please go to AFF. A link has been provided in my profile.)

**Chapter Twelve**

**The Mating Marks**

_Previously: _

"_What?" Harry asked, desperately reaching up to Draco and drawing him back down to meet his lips with his own. Draco shook his head, smiled softly, and lapped insistently at Harry's lips until they parted to allow Draco's tongue in. A soft sound of approval left Harry's throat as he pulled Draco as close as he could go._

_Now:_

Draco pulled away, panting. Harry looked at him questioningly, and Draco smiled slyly at him. His shirt was the first to go. Harry eyed Draco's toned chest hungrily, his eyes trailing down to the waistband of his pants unconsciously. Draco followed where Harry's eyes were going, then looked up at him, a smirk curling his lips.

"You're still wearing half of yours," He said, a gleam lighting in his eyes. "So I still get to wear half of mine."

Harry whimpered in protest, but Draco didn't give in to Harry's pleading eyes. "You take off yours, I'll take off mine."

"But yours is covering the best part!" Harry exclaimed. Draco smirked and Harry sighed. "Fine!" Reaching up, he pulled off his pajama shirt, and ceased to be half-nude. Draco licked his lips hungrily as he devoured Harry's body with his eyes, and Harry watched Draco expectantly. Draco trailed his hands down his own chest slowly, and when he reached the waistband of his pants, he stretched it out slightly. The glare that he received from the teasing action made his smirk widen, and he slowly, teasingly pulled his pants down. Harry was the one who licked his lips this time as Draco smirked down at him, tossing his pants to the side of the bed.

Seconds later, Draco was on his back on the bed, Harry straddling him. "You think it's nice to tease?" Harry rasped, his voice husky from desire.

Draco shook his head, his eyes wide at the fact that Harry was on top of him and he didn't know how it had happened.

"Ha, you only say that now because you don't have control of this situation anymore. I know for a fact that you enjoy teasing." Harry smirked down at Draco, fingers intertwining with his right by his head, making sure to hold Draco down firmly. "Don't like it so much now that it's coming back at you, do you?" Harry asked, licking his lips and hungrily staring down at Draco's own. Draco relaxed slightly, his own eyes locking with Harry's.

"I have no clue what you're talking about, Potter."

Harry glared and ground their hips together roughly. Draco sucked in a breath, eyes going wide again. "You don't like it when someone else has this much control over you, do you, Malfoy? Does it make you…uncomfortable?" Harry licked his lips again at the last word, eyes sparkling evilly.

"Actually, Potter," Malfoy retorted, pushing up against Harry's hands and slowly forcing his way back on top. "I kind of like it." Harry's smirk was wiped clean off of his face at the comment, his whole body going slack in surprise, and giving Draco chance to push Harry flat onto his back, now the dominant one.

Harry glared up at Draco. "You bastard! You tricked me!"

Draco only smirked as he lowered his lips to Harry's. "Am I such a bastard…now?" After murmuring the last word, Draco's lips captured Harry's in a breath-taking kiss. Their hands, fingers still locked together, pressed roughly against the bed in an attempt to get closer to one another, even though it was highly impossible. Both ignored the fact that they were stark naked for a few fleeting moments as the kiss lingered, drawing both into their own little world where only they existed.

Neither noticed a bushy head peaking out from the bed hangings across the room, or the large smile that was plastered on her face. After all, she was just about to get a front seat to the show that she had been waiting for ever since they had been placed in the hospital wing. A knowing grin rooted itself to Hermione's lips as she silently took down her silencing charms. If she was going to see them in action, she wanted to hear them as well; it had been a long time since she had had sex, and by that point in time, she was willing to have any she could get, even if it meant watching to others do it instead of doing it herself. What made it even better was the fact that it was two soul mates, who truly loved each other. Hermione sighed longingly as she watched the proceeds, silent even when things began to get hot and heavier…

Harry sighed into the kiss, his eyes opening slowly to meet Draco's now almost platinum colored ones. Desire lingered deeply in both pairs of eyes, and Draco began the long known ritual with a press of the hips, which caused all of Harry's no longer existent walls of restrain to come tumbling down.

Before either knew it, Draco was entering Harry. Harry could barely stop the cry of pleasure from leaving his lips as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. It was as if his body was made for exactly this moment; nothing had ever fit him better.

Harry moaned loudly, closed his eyes, and tossed his head from side to side as Draco pressed into that special spot deep inside of him. Draco reveled in the feel of Harry's body enveloping him.

Harry opened his eyes, forest green flashing to a molten silver color for a few seconds. Draco leaned in closer, breathless, and their lips clashed hungrily. They devoured each other then, eyes open and panting, sweat building up along with their impending and also inevitable orgasm that was sure to rock their worlds. Draco groaned into Harry's open mouth, which quickly and greedily devoured any sounds that Draco made.

Emerald eyes locked with gray, lips locked together, hands clenched into fists and pressed roughly against the mattress, bodies synchronized to every last thrust, they fell over the edge. Orgasm consumed both. Heat enveloped them, sweat glistening on their skin, as they shared one final kiss before Draco collapsed onto Harry's chest, both thoroughly sated.

Harry separated one of his hands from Draco's, and made slow circular patterns on Draco's back, staring at the ceiling and panting. Draco's head rested on Harry's chest, and he clutched Harry tightly to his body as his breathing and erratic heart beat slowly found their way back to normal. Harry trailed his hand lovingly through Draco's silky hair, smiling dazedly.

It started slowly; it was barely noticeable. A cold tingly feeling in their lower backs, slowly working it's way up. Draco lifted his head and looked deeply into Harry's eyes, trying to see if he noticed it, too. Harry's eyes widened slightly; Draco was emitting a soft greenish glow from every naked pore of his being. Draco tilted his head curiously; the tingle had now worked it's way to the base of his skull, and soon his whole head was tingling. The tingle began to expand until all of his body was tingling. Then, he saw the green light emitting from Harry.

Harry's eyes had turned to silver, and his body was slowly rising off of the bed, Draco's rising along with him. They were still in their exact same positions, Draco staring deeply into Harry's eyes, Harry deeply into his. A deep feeling of calm settled over the room as both boys were lifted from the bed to float in mid-air, soft green light filling the entire room. Harry grasped Draco's hands in his own and squeezed. Draco smiled at him softly, and they clung tightly to each other as their bodies were turned to a vertical angle.

Their lips inched closer to each other's, and when they met, the whole room exploded with a dark green light filtering through everything. Harry groaned as their tongues met and they explored the other's mouth thoroughly. When they finally pulled away, panting, the room had lost it's glow, and now only their fingers glowed, where they were still interlaced. The silver glint of something wrapping itself around his middle left finger caught Harry's eye first. Maybe it was his Seeker reflexes coming into play, but he pointed out the glint to Draco, who noticed the same thing happening to his own middle left finger.

When the light left the room completely and they were drenched in darkness, though still floating in mid-air, both boys separated their fingers to explore the new development. Silver rings encircled their fingers, simple but breathtaking all at the same time. Tiny scripted words were scrawled across the rings, but stopped at an image of two snakes forming the shape of a heart with their bodies. Each individual ring's snake-heart pulsed in time with its wearer's heart beat.

Harry gazed at it in awe, then looked up to meet Draco's eyes. "Wha…what does it say?" He asked the first thing that came to mind, and Draco grinned slightly, pulling Harry's hand to his face to investigate the words written across his ring.

"They're different," Draco pointed out. "Yours basically says _'Driven by Courage'_. Mine says…" Draco flushed slightly and Harry looked at him questioningly.

"What? What does it say?"

Draco shook his head and looked down. "Uh…we're still floating." He said, trying to distract Harry.

"Yeah, so?" Harry asked, curious as to what Draco's ring said. "What does it say?"

"It says…er…"

Harry raised an eyebrow expectantly. "Yes?"

"It says…itsaysdrivenbylove!" Draco burst out after a pregnant pause.

"It says…what?" Harry blinked in confusion, and Hermione took the moment of silence to cut in.

"Driven by love?" She asked, staring between the two.

"What are you doing!" Harry burst out, glaring at her. Hermione smirked, and Draco buried his face in Harry's neck with a groan, trying to cover up his obvious nakedness.

"Well, there was all this light, and I just thought that maybe…"

"Ugh! Hermione, do you have a sense of privacy at all?" Harry shot her a disgusted look and ran his hand up and down Draco's back comfortingly.

"I thought you might be in trouble or something!" Hermione exclaimed, trying to defend herself. "You know, the light was green…like…like…oh, never mind! Besides, all the noises you guys were making were coming through the silencing spells, which I thought were pretty strong…could you guys have been any louder?"

"Yes," Draco said, lifting his face to glare at Hermione. "Would you like for us to try?" With that, he trailed a hand down and goosed Harry with an appreciative sound, his hand remaining on his bum for the rest of the time. Hermione glared and chose not to respond to the question.

"I didn't know that the rings would happen; only strong wizards get those. I've been reading up, you see." Hermione said with a smug smile. "Not that I don't think you're not powerful or anything, Harry, but usually wizards don't find their soul mates until their late twenties, at least, so I would have no way of knowing how strong you are compared to other wizards. Generally, for wizards that aren't as strong as some, most soul mates only get a tattoo. You've got one, too, you know."

"Where!" Draco exclaimed, flailing around and feeling all over his body to find the displeasing mar of his perfect flesh.

"Right…there." Hermione pointed to a spot on Draco's left bum cheek, and he yelped. "Harry's got one, too. It's on his right cheek. Isn't it cute how you've got matching soul mate marks and everything?"

"No!" Draco exclaimed haughtily, clutching his bum protectively. Harry smirked at how much he looked like Dudley right then, and when Draco whimpered slightly, Harry burst out laughing. "This is _not _funny!" Draco complained, poking Harry in the center of the chest scoldingly.

Harry shook his head, tears of mirth gathering in his eyes. "I…know!" He said between brays of laughter. Soon he was gasping for breath and Draco shot him a dark look.

"It's not." Draco insisted.

When Harry stopped laughing, he turned to look at Hermione. "Uh…do you mind?"

"Oh, not at all," Hermione said. "Actually, it is rather hot in here, isn't it?"

Draco's eyes widened and he yelped again. "No! It's not hot in here at all! You keep your clothes on!"

Hermione giggled and Draco looked at her with a wounded look. Harry looked between them, brow furrowed thoughtfully.

"Are you guys sure you couldn't use some help?" Hermione asked, still laughing softly.

"No!" Draco and Harry exclaimed together. They met eyes, and Harry burst out laughing, but Draco 'harrumphed' and crossed his arms.

"It's not _funny_!" Draco exclaimed, and sighed when both teens continued to laugh.


	13. Halloween Morning and Begging

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**A/N: **Recently, there were some reviews that I felt the need to respond to.

_Alison _- All in good time! But thank you for asking those questions, as they are very relevant to the plot. The rings may do more than you think they do, though; Harry and Draco _do _live in the Wizarding world, after all! _:wink:_

_Sylver-Tyger_ - I'm _so _sorry for not specifying these things! Harry's eyes only _flash _grey once in a while, like when he's under extreme emotional pressure or something like that. The reason they were grey that one time was because they were sort of supposed to be signals to Harry and Draco that they needed to hurry up and complete the bond already! Yes, Draco does still have the scar, though. The scar on Draco is more permanent than Draco's eye color on Harry. This is because Harry, though not by much, is a more powerful wizard than Draco. When they complete the bond, their soul is one, and therefore the power is contributed evenly between the two. And the only reason that no one has questioned him about it is because his hair covers it. When you're in a hospital ward, you don't really have the time to gel your hair back every day, so his has been hanging loose lately. Of course, not having gel won't stop Draco from messing with his hair until he thinks it's perfect otherwise. I hope this has helped you out. If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask!

_Pixiedora _- "Why the floatingness?" All will be explained in a matter of time! _:Author grins madly: _

Thank you to anyone else who has reviewed! They are greatly appreciated, and I can't tell you how much your reviews inspire me! Your feedback is the one thing that keeps this fic going, so please continue to review!

**A/N2: **One final question before continuing on with the fic; **_MPREG!HARRY OR MPREG!DRACO? _**Leave your vote in a review; that time is nearly upon us and I'd like to know my readers' opinions before I write it. Thanks to all of the reviewers and everyone else who has taken the time to read this fic!

**Chapter 13**

**Halloween Morning and Begging**

"Happy Halloween, guys!" A high-pitched squeal of a voice woke Harry up from a very pleasant dream with a start. Harry glared in the direction of where the voice was coming from, then rolled over, snuggled into the warm body behind him, and attempted to fall asleep. "Get up, Harry. It's morning. And Madam Pomfrey wants to see the both of you." A sharp prod in Harry's side caused him to slit his eyes open and glare at Hermione, who was grinning down at him goofily and trying to hold in a laugh.

"Wha' th' f'k d'you wan'?" Harry slurred, his mind still slow and his voice clogged with sleep.

"Harry, watch your language!" Hermione scolded, then promptly burst out laughing, unable to hold it in any longer.

Harry tried to sit up, but was restrained by a leg that was carelessly flung over his hips.

"What're you laughing at, 'Mione?" Harry asked as a bewildered expression stuck itself to his face.

"Oh, nothing." Hermione said, smile still in place on her lips.

"No, seriously, what's up?" Harry asked, bringing a hand up to rub his eyes.

"Well…" Hermione averted her eyes and broke into laughter again. "You guys just look so _cute_!"

Harry felt a warm breath on the back of his neck, followed by a pressing of lips, before the body behind him drew away to sleepily glare at Hermione. "I am not _cute_." Draco protested, wrapping his arms tightly around Harry from behind.

Hermione muffled another burst of laughter, nodding her agreement quickly before retreating. After her laughter died down enough for her to manage words again, she smiled at them and said, "Um, breakfast's getting cold."

"'M not hungry," Draco protested, nuzzling against the back of Harry's neck lovingly and closing his eyes in a vain attempt of sleep.

"Well, Harry is, aren't you Harry?" Hermione asked, shooting Harry a pointed look. Harry sighed.

"Um, yeah…I'm…hungry." After the word 'hungry' was uttered, Harry turned a bright red, remembering the events of the night before after Hermione had finally gone to sleep and he and Draco had had another passionate round of love-making. Draco smirked; he could feel the heat radiating off of the back of Harry's neck, which was flushed slightly.

"Good, because I've already made you a bowl of porridge, and you're going to eat it before you go and see Madam Pomfrey. She'll probably be wanting to test you, and you aren't taking any potions on an empty stomach, you know what it does to you." Hermione said, reaching out a hand to help Harry from the bed.

Harry looked awkwardly at Hermione's outstretched hand and blushed furiously. "Uh, Hermione, not that I don't love you and all, but do you think…do you think you could give us a few minutes to…uh…get…erm…dressed?"

Hermione's mouth fell open in shock; the boys had been dressed when she had fallen asleep, she had been sure of it! "Harry!" Hermione said, the shock evident in her voice.

Harry blushed harder. "I couldn't help it!" Harry protested.

Draco continued to smirk, and Hermione's mouth continued to hang open in shock. "What do you _mean _you couldn't help it?" Hermione asked in an accusing voice.

"Why do you care?" Draco snapped, resting his head on Harry's shoulder and glaring at Hermione pointedly.

"I…I…" Hermione made a slightly choked sound, then flushed. "I _don't_!" She denied, looking away from the couple still lying on the bed.

Draco smirked smugly at her, then kissed Harry on the side of he throat before pulling away. "Granger, I'd suggest you leave for a few moments, please." He said in a rudely polite voice as he dragged the blankets with him and left Harry naked on the bed.

"Hey!" Harry protested, flushing and covering his privates quickly. "Share!"

"But I _like _you naked," Draco said teasingly, a glint in the back of his eyes.

"Draco-o-o! Not while _she's _here!" Harry objected with a glare.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Hermione. "Granger, out!" He shouted pushing her out the door and slamming it shut behind her. Hermione glared at the door with her mouth hanging open; she hadn't expected to be handled in the way she had been.

"Five minutes!" She shouted at the closed door. When she got no response, she glared at it one final time, then spun on her heal and ran smack into a hard chest. A pair of large hands caught her just as she was about to fall, and Hermione looked up to meet a pair of startling blue eyes framed by red hair, freckles dotting the handsome face of none other than Ronald Weasley.

Hermione groaned inwardly. _'Not this. Please, not this, not now.' _She thought, though outwardly she showed no signs of her inner struggles. "Ron," She acknowledged with a nod, averting her eyes quickly.

"Hermione," Ron greeted in turn, lowering his hands quickly. His eyes searched her face for a sign of something that Hermione couldn't place, and Hermione eyed Ron out of the corner of her eye. "I, uh…how've you been?" Ron asked awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck as a flush began to spread over his cheeks.

"Fine, and you?" Hermione asked in turn, deciding to stick with the dialogue of acquaintances. It would make it all the easier in the end, she decided.

"Fine," Ron agreed with a nod. "And, uh…the baby?" Ron's flush spread to his neck, cheeks flaming, the color clashing violently with his carrot colored hair.

Hermione's face turned to that of stone and her eyes turned icy. "Fine," She said, tight lipped, and she quickly made to step away from Ron, who stood in the corridor awkwardly, looking down at Hermione with something akin to regret sparkling in his eyes.

"I, uh…"

"If you'll excuse me," Hermione intervened rudely. "I have things to do and people to see." Hermione turned swiftly on her heel, and, remembering to cast the appropriate charms on herself so that she wouldn't catch the dreadful 'disease' that Draco and Harry had, stepped into the room that she had seconds before been so rudely shoved out of.

"Harry, Draco," Hermione said in acknowledgement, making her way straight to the bathroom and slamming the door swiftly shut behind her. She had failed to see the very compromising position the boys had been in (Harry holding Draco's thighs open, preparing to enter him roughly with a quick thrust), as the tears began to flood her eyes and stream down her face.

Harry and Draco's eyes met, Draco's mouth slightly ajar and Harry blushing furiously. Harry swiftly yanked away from Draco, pulling on the closest item of clothing, which just so happened to be one of Draco's pairs of dark green boxers. "Hey, those are mine!" Draco protested, sitting up and glaring at Harry.

"I'm just borrowing them, it's not like I'm going to keep them," Harry said, waving his hand dismissively as he walked to the door. "Now shut up, I've got to talk to her." Draco glared sulkily at Harry.

"And what do you expect me to do in the meantime?" He asked, motioning towards his still throbbing prick. "It's not like it's going to take care of itself, you know!"

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. "Then do something about it!" He said as he raised his hand to the door and rapped loudly three times. "Hermione? Are you okay?"

"Fine," Hermione assured, sniffing softly so that Harry wouldn't know she had been crying. She dabbed at her blotchy eyes and looked at herself in the mirror. Sure that she looked like she had been crying, but not really caring at the moment, Hermione sighed and opened the door. "I'm fine," She repeated, stepping around Harry and raising an eyebrow at Draco, who was still laying on the bed, propped up on one elbow, and oh so obviously naked. "Um…do you want me to…leave or something?" She asked, unsure of what, exactly, she had barged into.

"No!" Harry said, stepping in front of her and obscuring her view of Draco. "As a matter of fact," Harry looked over his shoulder pointedly at Draco. "Draco was just getting dressed! _Weren't _you, Draco?"

Draco sighed. "Yeah," He agreed dejectedly, as he stepped into Harry's dark crimson boxers and pulled on one of the discarded shirts (thankfully his own) and sighed. Hermione frowned.

"I'm sorry, guys. I should have waited a bit longer." Then Hermione turned and eyed Harry critically. "Harry, you better have eaten before you did anything with Draco!"

Harry flushed. "Hermione! We're sort of talking about _you _right now, thanks."

"Me?" Hermione questioned. "Why?"

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Because, Hermione," Harry tried to explain. "You just came in her bawling your eyes out, and I'd like to know why."

"I did not!" Hermione protested indignantly.

"Yes," Harry said sternly, sounding much older than his seventeen years, and much more tired than a seventeen-year-old should ever feel. "You did. Please, Hermione? You can talk to me."

Hermione sighed. "It was nothing, okay?" she said, looking away. "I just…nothing."

Harry exhaled slowly. "Hermione," He said, stepping closer to her and holding out his arms for a hug. Hermione leaned into the embrace and closed her eyes tightly to fend off another bout of tears. "I'll understand. You know I will. What's up?"

"I just saw Ron. It shouldn't affect me so much, but it does. I can't _help _it." Hermione gasped out, burying her face in the crook of Harry's shoulder.

Harry smiled. "That's _all_?"

"What do you _mean_, 'that's all'!" Hermione exclaimed, pulling away to glare heatedly at Harry.

"Well…uh…nothing?" Harry smiled innocently, and Hermione raised an eyebrow.

"He _meant_," Draco drawled, interrupting the two from their stare-down. "That agonizing over that stupid prat isn't a very big deal. I suspect that he thought this would happen eventually. You _were _too composed, after all." Draco smirked proudly, and Harry shot him an unreadable but clearly angry look. Draco grinned cheekily at Harry. Harry's eye twitched slightly, and he looked away.

Unable to deny what Draco had said, because for the most part, it was true, Harry clamped his mouth shut and stared expectantly at Hermione, who continued to glare at Harry.

**XXX**

"What did you _expect _me to do, just _sit _there?" Draco indignantly asked Harry, arms crossed over his sweaty chest after a long and hard bout of sex. "You had yet to satisfy me, I had to make up for the lost opportunity!"

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You _could _have not said anything at _all_!"

"What fun would that have been?" Draco asked, eyes wide and innocent as Harry smiled softly and threw a pillow at him.

"It would have saved me from her anger." Harry replied.

"Yes, and she would have stayed for longer than she was welcome, and it would have prohibited us in the actions that we have just so monumentally performed." Draco protested.

Harry sighed. "Draco, you know-"

"Hermione said that we have 'tattoos.'" Draco interrupted quite suddenly. Harry balked at the subject change.

"Wh…what?"

"I want to know what mine is."

"But-"

"Tell me." Draco insisted, and rolled over to display his pale, rounded buttocks to Harry's greedy eyes. After a moment of staring in silent appreciation at Draco's ass, Draco snapped, "Well?"

"Uh, it's….it's a…black dragon."

Draco blinked. "Really?" He asked, twisting to see. "Why isn't it moving?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, blinking distractedly down at Draco's rounded globes.

"All Wizarding tattoos move, just like their portraits and pictures. Why isn't it? I can't see it!" He exclaimed frustrated after a few failed attempts of straining to check out his own arse.

"Well, I guess this one was made to resemble a muggle tattoo, because it's not moving."

"Maybe it's asleep," Draco said hopefully.

Harry raised an eyebrow at Draco and shook his head doubtfully. Draco sighed. Then he perked. "Hermione said that they match. Let me see yours!" Harry blinked again.

"You just want to ogle my arse!" Harry exclaimed, covering said parts with his hands in protection.

"So what if I do?" Draco said with a wink. "Would you protest?"

"Er…" Harry flushed suddenly, and Draco burst out laughing.

"Just let me see it, you git!"

"No!" Harry cried, standing from the bed and racing across the room, giving Draco a good show of the body part in question, but not of the tattoo that Draco yearned to see.

"Please!" Draco begged, following. "Please, just one peek!"

"No!"

From the door, neither boy noticed the wise blue eyes following their every motion amusedly.

"I'm begging!" Draco continued to prattle on, and Harry laughed.

"I said no! If they match, then you know that it's a black dragon, and that's all you need to know!"

"Please!" Draco desperately lunged for Harry, but he eluded Draco's grasp with a smirk and ran to the other side of the room.

"Stop it!" Harry said with a distracted smile. "Later! You can look later!"

"Is that a promise, Mister Potter?" Dumbledore spoke for the first time, and both boys' eyes flew towards the door in panic, Harry hiding behind Draco so that the headmaster couldn't see his vulnerable position. "I _do _hope it is," Dumbledore continued as he stepped into the room, purple robes swishing with his steps. "Because we do have some important matters to attend to at present."


	14. You're Jealous!

Fate and a Rose

**DISCLAIMER:** Harry Potter (and associated characters, likenesses, concepts, etc.) belongs to J.K. Rowling, Bloomsbury Publishing, Scholastic, Inc. AOL/Time Warner, Inc., among others. I make no claim, written or implied, upon Harry Potter. No money is being made and no infringement or disrespect to the creators / copyright holders is intended.

**A/N:** Whew, I'm glad everyone has decided to respond to my question. Unfortunately, I cannot meet everyone's demands, but I believe that what I have come up with will make everyone happy nonetheless. **REMINDER:** NOT EVERYTHING IS AS IT SEEMS ON FIRST GLANCE. I WOULD LIKE EVERYONE TO REMEMBER THIS FOR FUTURE REFERANCE, THAT WAY THEY WON'T ALL BE MAD AT ME FOR NOT CHOSING THE PREG THAT THEY WANTED._ :Author grins devilishly:_

**Chapter Fourteen**

**You're Jealous!**

Draco glared at Dumbledore witheringly, but Dumbledore just smiled with his damn eyes twinkling once again. "Would you two mind dressing yourselves?" Dumbledore asked pointedly, his eyes remaining on Draco's face so as not to catch themselves an eye-full of something that he didn't want to be branded in his mind for the rest of eternity.

Harry flushed but Draco stayed rooted to his place, his glare gaining more malice as he continued to stare defiantly at Dumbledore.

Harry finally sighed and prodded Draco softly on the shoulder. "Draco," he whispered softly. "I think we should get dressed. Dumbledore might make us walk out there _starkers _if we don't." Harry's wide eyes trailed over to an innocently smiling Dumbledore. Harry cleared his throat and said a little louder, "Um, if you would excuse us for a moment, sir?"

"Oh, but of course!" Dumbledore exclaimed, excusing himself and shutting the doors softly behind him.

The moment Dumbledore was gone, Draco turned on Harry. "Harry," He said, a smirk gathering up in his eyes. "I demand that you allow me to examine your tattoo before we converse with that old coot." Harry glared at Draco and Draco sighed. "Fine," he said sulkily. "I demand that you _please _allow me to examine your tattoo before we converse with our _pleasant _Headmaster!" He corrected. "Better?"

Harry smiled. "Much." Draco's eyes lit up with hope as he stepped closer to Harry, but Harry stepped away. "But still, no."

"But _they're _going to want to see it, too!" Draco exclaimed in protest. "You won't even let _me _see it before you let _them_? What kind of a soul mate _are _you?"

Harry grinned and pulled Draco to him. Their chests met and Draco gasped at the sudden skin on skin contact. "Yours," Harry whispered into Draco's ear, nipping it softly before pulling away. "But we'll explore that later. Right now, we have to go talk to Madam Pomfrey and Dumbledore. You've done enough today as it is. Now get dressed."

Harry threw a pair of boxers at Draco with a smile, then pulled on a pair of his own. Draco glared sulkily at Harry before pulling his own on and getting the rest of the way dressed. His traitorous eyes kept sneaking off to Harry's toned body every once in a while before it was completely covered in clothing, and Draco just had to snort at his own weakness.

Harry blinked, then looked over to Draco as he pulled on his shirt. "What is it _this _time?" he asked with a soft smile at Draco's lingering disappointed look towards Harry's chest.

"Nothing," Draco defended a bit too quickly.

Seconds after Draco had pulled on his last garment, the door to the hospital wing was pushed open forcefully as none other than Dumbledore, Madam Pomfrey, Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall strolled in. Chairs were conjured and they all seated themselves pleasantly, with Harry and Draco sitting side by side but as far as possible away from their Professors.

"Boys," Dumbledore nodded in greeting, and Draco scowled at him.

"Headmaster," Harry greeted in turn, and only at the prodding of his sharp elbow did Draco grudgingly do the same.

"I understand that you have completed your bonding," The headmaster continued. Draco continued to scowl, but Harry eyed him curiously.

"And what gives you that notion?" Harry asked.

"You boys are positively glowing!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed with a proud smile. "Of course we are going to know that you've completed your bonding. Now, what we'd all like to know is, what have you inherited because of the bonding?"

Harry blinked. "Why? Is it important?"

Draco grunted and crossed his arms over his chest, effectively hiding the ring on his finger in the process.

"Oh, most definitely," Dumbledore said, shooting a glance towards Madam Pomfrey that clearly told her not to interrupt again. "They will determine your greatness."

"Greatness?" Harry questioned, becoming more and more confused by the moment.

"Yes," Dumbledore said. "They determine how many and what type of achievements that you will accomplish. And we are most definitely expecting great things of you, Harry." Dumbledore's eyes trailed over to Draco and he smiled warmly at him. "Of you _both_."

Harry blinked and rubbed his temple; all of the information bombarding him was enough to give him a headache. "We, um…we have…tattoos."

Dumbledore's eyes widened. "Of course," He said thoughtfully. "We should have expected as much. Professor Snape!"

Snape stood and stared wide eyed down at Harry before bowing his head slightly. Then he looked at Dumbledore, who nodded. "You know what you must do. We attack at midnight tomorrow."

Harry blinked. "What? What do you mean?"

Dumbledore returned his eyes to Harry's. "Harry," Dumbledore said, stopping for a moment as though pondering what to say. "If we are to destroy Voldemort, we must do it while your marks are fresh. We still have to find out what the remaining Horcruxe is."

"But-" Harry was cut off before he could even begin.

"Albus, he cannot fight, not so soon! I must do the appropriate tests, I must figure out whether or not they are expecting; there are so many things we must do, they aren't ready!"

"Expecting?" Harry looked between the remaining Professors confusedly. "But-"

"I know these things, Madam," Dumbledore said grimly. "But we have found one of the Horcruxes."

Madam Pomfrey paled considerably, and Minerva nodded grimly. "The hand that was used to return Voldemort to his body," she explained. "It was one of them. Voldemort has two parts of his soul in him now, instead of only one. He is stronger than was anticipated. It is highly unheard of to have a human Horcrux without the person perishing, but Voldemort has accomplished it. We must do what is needed as soon as possible, while the boys are at their peaks."

Harry and Draco shared a confused look, and Dumbledore once again turned his eyes upon them. "Those marks of yours," He began. "We must see what they are."

Draco scowled. "No," He refused.

"Mister Malfoy, this is highly important. We must!" Minerva exclaimed.

"They're on our arses!" Draco protested, clamping a hand over his own arse protectively. "And I refuse to let you ogle me!"

"Mister Malfoy!" Minerva protested, eyes slightly wide, but the corners of her lips turning up slightly. "Please don't use profanity."

"Draco," Harry whispered, leaning in close to him in order to be heard. "This may be our only chance. They can't know our exact power unless they see the marks. I'll show them mine first, if it'll make you feel any better. Please, just do it."

Draco glared sourly at Dumbledore. "No," He stated after a tense moment of silence. "I refuse to let them ogle what's mine, and that includes you!"

Harry sighed. "Fine, you win." He then turned to Dumbledore. "They're dragons." He said.

A sharp intake of breath could be heard throughout the room, and all was silent for a few moments. Snape paused mid-stride and he stared wide-eyed down at Harry, mouth slightly agape. "You're sure?" Dumbledore asked, shifting awkwardly in his chair, his normally twinkling eyes shifting from Harry to Draco with a look of shock and awe.

Harry blinked once more. "Um…yeah. Why? What's wrong?"

Madam Pomfrey sighed and smiled proudly. "Nothing at all, Harry! Nothing at all!" Then she turned to Dumbledore. "Now I know for certain that they're expecting." Her sharp eyes turned back to Harry and Draco and she smiled tersely. "This is a slightly embarrassing question," She said, cheeks slightly flushed. "But we need to know." She paused to clear her throat slightly before asking the inevitable question. "Which of you two bottomed last night?"

Harry's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock, and Draco's face flushed bright pink. Just then the door slammed open and Hermione stormed in, glaring at Draco. She had yet to notice the little intervention going on, and when she did, she turned slightly red. "Um, sorry. Am I, uh…interrupting something?"

Draco shook his head wildly. "No! Of course not!" He refused to meet Harry's eyes, and Harry blinked at the sudden interruption.

"We were just asking these two here," Madam Pomfrey interrupted impatiently. "Which will have the pleasure of being a pregnant daddy-to-be!"

Hermione looked at Harry with a strange look on her face and Harry flushed. "Pregnant?" Hermione asked, looking between Harry and Draco suspiciously.

"Mmm'hmm!" Madam Pomfrey said cheerily, glancing at the boys expectantly.

Draco sighed and uncrossed his arms. "Fine!" He shouted with a glare. "I topped! Happy?"

Harry slunk down in his chair with his hands over his eyes and face flaming. Hermione giggled and the Professors shifted uncomfortably in their seats. "Harry's going to be pregnant!" Hermione shrieked gleefully before flinging herself into Harry's arms.

Dumbledore winced slightly and Snape's slightly agape mouth snapped shut and curled down at the edges. He restrained himself from making any snide remarks and settled for swiftly removing himself from the room to complete the task he had been given. "Not exactly," Madam Pomfrey said, stepping towards Harry with a thermometer that was very long, the liquid inside green instead of red. Harry opened his mouth expectantly with a glare towards Hermione and pushed her off.

"Oh, dear, that's not where this is going!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed with a smile. "If you'd kindly remove your pants," Harry paled and Draco looked at him with a straight face for a moment before cracking up.

"I wouldn't be laughing quite yet, mister!" Madam Pomfrey chided, wiping the thermometer down with a white cloth. "You'll be getting it soon, as well." Harry grinned smugly at Draco before dropping his pants and stepping towards Draco and his shared bed. Draco's mouth snapped shut immediately and Hermione grinned down at him, taking Harry's now vacated seat. Dumbledore smiled at her and welcomed her presence as a distraction.

"Miss Granger, how have you been?" He asked, eyes once again twinkling.

**XXX**

Draco eyed the now purple thermometer distastefully. "You mean that I'm going to have to stick that up my arse?" He asked suspiciously.

"Why not?" Harry asked from his position at the foot of Draco's no longer occupied chair. "I did."

Draco shot a sour glare towards Harry, then sighed. "Yes, and you're having a girl." Draco looked disappointedly at the thermometer and sighed again.

"How do you know?" Harry asked, looking at the thermometer confusedly.

"The thermometer's color signifies the gender." Draco explained.

"But why isn't it pink?"

Draco sighed and rolled his eyes. "Because," Draco said exasperatedly. "Pink means you have one of those bloody Sexually Transmitted Diseases. Purple means you're pregnant with a girl."

Harry blinked and watched interestedly as Draco bent over and the thermometer disappeared into his arse. Harry licked his dry lips and stared at Draco's dragon tattoo while Madam Pomfrey made small noises of approval. "Ah, just as I suspected!" She exclaimed after a few moments, withdrawing the thermometer with a slight popping sound and staring at it with a grin. "Blue! Congratulations, Draco, it's a boy!"

Harry eyed Draco's arse for a moment, before meeting his eyes. "A…boy?" He asked, licking his lips again.

Madam Pomfrey nodded and smiled. "A boy." She said, her grin widening. "You're officially having twins!"

Harry blinked and Draco's lips slowly curled into a smile. "A boy," He breathed. Then he met Harry's eyes again and stuck out his tongue! "Ha, take that! I get a boy!"

Hermione broke out laughing, and Harry blinked again, still not able to comprehend the fact that both he and Draco were pregnant after only having sex once…no, okay, twice, but still…okay, maybe _three _times. Harry sighed and Draco's smile widened. "Admit it!" he crowed. "You're jealous!"

Harry's brow furrowed for a moment. "Of what?" Draco eyed him calculatingly, as if wondering whether or not Harry was pulling his leg. "Oh," Harry said finally. "You've got a boy. Yeah, I'm jealous, all right." Then his eyes went down to Draco's arse again and he licked his lips.

Madam Pomfrey cleared her throat and motioned towards Draco's still lowered pants. Draco stuck his nose in the air smugly as he pulled them up and strutted over to his seat, draping one leg over Harry's shoulder comfortably once he was seated.


	15. This Means War

**Chapter Fifteen**

**This Means War**

"Minerva, just because the boys are having children does not change the fact that there is a war going on. I will not lose millions to Tom if I don't have to. Harry and Draco can stop him; we've got to at least take the chance!" Dumbledore continued to argue heatedly with Minerva, who was sitting across from him and standing up for the boys without budging.

"Albus, I understand that we cannot afford to lose anyone else; the death toll is high enough as it is. But we also cannot risk our savior and his only heirs. Nor can we risk his mate. We just cannot risk their _lives _like that, and I refuse to hand them over to that wretched creature that fancies that he's a Lord on a silver _platter_!" Minerva's face was almost red with the effort she put forth to restrain herself properly. Harry was in awe; Professor McGonagall had never shown such great care for her students. Of course she loved all students equally, and though it was true that she had a particularly large soft spot for the Gryffindors, she always kept her cool, no matter who was in trouble or what the danger was.

Draco watched the professors wide eyed as they continued with the battle of words, the fight heating up with each passing second that it was allowed to simmer.

"Professors," Harry interrupted after a short pause, but he was quickly stopped by a hand on his shoulder, and the Professors ignored him anyway, so it didn't really matter.

"I agree with Minerva completely on this one," Madam Pomfrey stepped in. "Harry cannot risk his life or that of his unborn child. We cannot risk Harry's life for him. Harry will vanquish Voldemort; of this I have no doubt. But he will do it in his own time; he cannot do it now, not with so much going on! He's under much too much stress; he could collapse in the middle of battle! Then how would we defeat Voldemort?"

Draco's mouth was by Harry's ear in seconds, and with a soft nip, Draco whispered, "I'd never let you collapse,"

Harry smiled softly and rubbed Draco's thigh affectionately. "I know," he said without a moments pause.

Snape stalked back into the room seconds later, and the fight was brought to newer heights. "It has been announced," He stated, and with that, all of the professors (excluding Dumbledore, of course) went into a frenzy.

"They can't!" Madam Pomfrey shrieked. "They're pregnant, they can't!"

Snape paled considerably at that news, but Madam Pomfrey's voice was promptly cut off by that of Minerva. "Call it off! I refuse to allow Harry to risk this!"

Minerva and Poppy's voices intermingled, making Harry's ears ring and Draco wince. Hermione was watching the going-ons interestedly, a calculating expression in her eyes. "I think," she said, and though her voice was drown out by that of Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall, Harry and Draco could hear her…barely. "That Harry should attempt it."

Harry's eyes widened and he stared at Hermione as though she had grown a second head. Hermione just continued. "Think about it, Harry; a male wizard hasn't gotten pregnant for nearly a century and a half, at least. But male pregnancies, instead of draining you, should give you more energy; that should give you more power. The baby will be feeding off of your raw magical power, but you'll also be feeding off of its, which will make you nearly invincible in the long run; and besides, hasn't Dumbledore told you that you'll be invincible once the bond was completed anyway? It's not often that a soul becomes complete, after all."

Harry blinked, then nodded in understanding. "Yeah," He said after a while. "What do you think, Draco? Are you up to defeating a crazy Dark Lord together?"

Draco smiled wryly and Harry grinned. "You know it, babe. So long as I get a decent shag once it's all done and over with, that is."

Harry's eyes twinkled as he leaned forward and met Draco's lips in a searing kiss half way. All of the voices melted away when their lips met, until it was just them, the two of them, and the world revolved around them. Things would work out, Harry had a strong feeling that they would.

As their kiss deepened, another set of baby blue eyes twinkled at them. Headmaster Dumbledore had no doubts whatsoever that Harry could defeat Voldemort. It was all within his heart, all within his soul; and Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived was complete in a way that a rare few would ever even be able to imagine.

**XXX**

The preparations for the war that they were about to enter didn't begin for a long while. When things were finally set into motion, it was nearly a disaster. First of all, Harry and Draco had shown up in the Great Hall…together…for the first time in nearly a month. It was mid-November, now.

Gasps could be heard from a majority of the students, and a few even scrambled to get away from the two; after all, they both had a most deadly disease. _'What in the bloody hell are they doing out of the Hospital Ward?' _was a question going through most minds. The two boys…no. No longer were Harry and Draco boys. They were complete, they were one, they were pregnant…they were men.

The two _men _stopped in the middle of the hall and looked at each of the students' faces. Some were young and frightened, some were a little older and wiser than they were when they were as young as the frightened ones, and others looked like they had had enough. Enough had happened to these students, and Harry had decided to stop it then and there.

A majority of the Slytherins were gone, having slipped off in the midst of the night in order to be united with Voldemort. Even a few people from other houses were gone; three from Hufflepuff, two from Gryffindor, and a whopping ten from Ravenclaw. Harry's eyes hardened when he noticed the absent Gryffindors and a small growl rose in his throat.

"Tonight," he began. His speech had been planned just seconds before in the hospital wing, but now, in front of all these vulnerable people, he spoke from the heart; all the rehearsed words flew out the window as he spoke. "We become adults. Even the first years will partake in the battle ahead of us. When this is all done and over, we will no longer be students. In our generation, we've seen much too many deaths, and it ends tonight.

"Tonight, we go into battle. You are free to walk out those doors at any moment and leave this school, and when it _re-opens _as a school, you will be accepted back with open arms. You will not be discriminated against for not participating in this war; it is between me and Voldemort. It's a war that started years ago when I was a baby, when I got this scar, and maybe even before that. And none of you have to fight by my side; I don't expect it of you. If I were in your shoes, I wouldn't want to stay here and fight a battle that isn't mine.

"If we don't stick together, though, there's nothing to say that we'll be alive come morning. And even though you may have been sheltered from it, you must remember that each and every one of you will be affected by this war, be it for the better or for the worse. And I can assure you that, if you stick by me, we'll be the ones coming out on top." Harry paused in his speech to take a breath and in the few short moments that he did so, the whole Great Hall erupted in speech.

There were people cheering Harry on, and people running up to him to clap him on the back. In the midst of all of the students, Draco was pushed from his side. Harry felt a twinge of loss stab through his side, and he quickly backed away from all of the students, a feeling of panic overtaking him. When his back collided with solid chest, Harry was relieved to find that, instead of some 'savage' student, it was instead Draco, who wrapped his arms around Harry's waist comfortingly.

There was a collective gasp from the mob of students that had gathered around Harry, and immediately, a hush fell over the student body.

Draco nodded at Harry and Harry continued with his speech. "You may all be wondering why I've been missing for such a long time; you may even wonder what's inspired me, put the fire in me to end this war here and now. I can only tell you, my friends, that it has all been because of love. Draco and I…we're soul mates. And…we're both pregnant." Harry paused again, and when everyone stayed in shocked silence, he continued. "What I have with Draco makes me strong; he makes me a better person than I could have ever hoped to become on my own. And as such, he makes me powerful. I want you all to know that, even if you don't believe in it, love is the most powerful thing on the planet. I'll swear by it. And if we don't come out of this war alive for any other reason, I want you all to know that I _will _come out of it alive…for love."

There was another bout of silence which was filled with short coughs from some of the surrounding students. Harry shot Hermione a desperate look, and she smiled softly at him, a hand rubbing her own slightly swelling belly. Her eyes twinkled with mirth as she slowly began to clap, and soon she was joined by her fellow Gryffindors, who were closely followed by the Hufflepuffs, the Ravenclaws, and shortly after, the Slytherins. Harry beamed at the students, and when the applause died down softly, he leaned up towards Draco and stole his lips with a breath taking kiss.

The Great Hall went wild, then. Random items of food were flung about in celebration and people cheered Harry and Draco on as they continued to kiss. Much clapping followed, even after Harry and Draco broke apart and they went to their separate tables to meet with their separate houses individually.

Harry sat at the Gryffindor table with a smile on his face. He reached for a roll and slowly began to chatter with his fellow Gryffindors, feeling more at home than he had for a great while. When dinner was over, Harry looked around and noticed that everyone seemed to be present at the table save one person; Ron. Ron had been at dinner when Harry had arrived, but sometime in the middle of it, he must have snuck off.

Harry blinked and shrugged as he went back to the conversation with his fellow Gryffindors. Dinner had long since passed, but everyone seemed to want to hang around in the Great Hall to find out what types of plans were going to be made for the war that Harry had told them was going to ensue shortly after midnight.

After the chatter died down slightly to a soft murmur of voices, Dumbledore stood and addressed the students. "As Harry has already implied," he began, and a hush fell over everyone in the Great Hall as the students strained to listen to their Headmaster. "The school will be shutting down for a short period to allow for preparations and will be used as a home base. The wounded will be brought here to be cared for. Once the war is over, the school will re-open and all will continue on as though it had never happened.

But of course, you yourselves will undergo many changes this night. Some may be scarred forever after this, and others…well, others may not live to see another day. But we all go into this knowing the risks and knowing the circumstances. We are not unprepared.

You may all step out at any moment, and no one is expected to fight with us. We ask that those of you in sixth year or older think long and hard about their positions in this war, and the way it has affected them. And we ask that you at least ponder over joining with us to defeat the dark lord." With a nod, Dumbledore reseated himself and a chatter rose over the students.


	16. I Have Power

**A/N: **Although in earlier chapters I said that I had been thinking about inserting into the fic a Hermione/Blaise coupling, I have decided now that that will not be so. As you may all have noticed, the fic is quickly drawing to a close.

I don't quite know how good I am at doing action scenes (because, as surprising as this may be to some people, this is my first fic), so please tell me what you think about the ones now and the ones coming up in later chapters.

Also, I will be going back and re-editing some chapters because of complaints. (I must agree with the reviewer that I don't quite pay attention to what I'm typing as each chapter is written, and hence, mistakes are made. I hope these mistakes did not hinder your enjoyment of the fic, though.) I would again like to ask if anyone would be interested in beta'ing for me, and if so, to please contact me at **c-beta (at) hotmail (dot) com**.

**Chapter Sixteen**

"**I Have Power…"**

A tall shadow fell over the trunk at the foot of a bed in the hospital wing. A sinister laugh filled and echoed in the large, empty room as the lid of the trunk was lifted and a long-stemmed rose was slowly extracted from the trunk. The lid creaked closed with a thump, and footsteps of the tall man echoed out of the room as the rose was gently placed inside a pocket in the man's robes.

**XXX**

Harry smiled across the room at Draco, who was chattering happily with Pansy and Blaise at the Slytherin table. After Dumbledore's short speech after dinner, no one had left the room, and all were nervously awaiting instruction. There was an excited chatter throughout the students, especially the first years that had, against some peoples' better judgment, decided to stay and fight.

Harry couldn't help but think that though it seemed that Dumbledore had plans for Harry, the plans weren't quite thought out, hence the long wait between dinner and now. Dumbledore had disappeared a while back and had yet to re-enter the Great Hall. Harry wondered what Dumbledore could possibly be doing but he had a slight clue, and continued to chatter with Hermione to pass the time.

Adrenaline seemed to be working through everyone's veins tonight, and perhaps that was why no one had asked questions about Harry and Draco being together. He knew that questions and accusations were inevitable, but for now Harry was grateful that no one had asked. He didn't quite have the energy to battle the entire student body and then go and fight against the Dark Lord in a war that could quite possibly end his life.

When Dumbledore entered the room, a hush fell over the students and they looked expectantly at him. He raised his hands above his head and nodded in acknowledgement at the students before opening his mouth. "You may all be expecting instructions from me as to what to do. These, I cannot give you. You have all decided to embark upon this journey with the light side, and I will not hold you back, but I must warn you of the dangers that will follow you all every step of the way.

"You could die, and there will be many fellow students that may fall, but you must carry on. Many people will fall before this is over; you must all know that now. And I will tell you that this will not be easy, but none of you are alone. Many adults will be here for you, fighting by your side. Harry was right earlier tonight when he said that you will no longer be children after tonight is over.

"I will advise you all to wear bright colors; no robes, they will hinder your movements, and you may trip over them. Although this is a war, I would also like to advise all to not use any unforgivable curses; they will be traceable, and when sentencing for Death Eaters begin, you may be tried along side them if you use any. The reason I ask that you wear bright colors is to distinguish our own from the Death Eaters, whom always wear black robes.

"A shielding spell will be put on all who plan on participating right before you leave the school to meet at the Quidditch Pitch, and those of you who do not wish to participate in battle but still want to be of service may adjourn to Madam Pomfrey's _old _Hospital Ward to be of assistance.

"The battle will take place here, in Hogwarts, and your parents will be arriving momentarily to either take you home, or participate in the war themselves." With a final nod, Dumbledore lowered his hands.

Heads of houses were seen leaving the Head table and going to their own houses' tables to meet with their students, and there was a loud rumble of feet following the few words spoken between students and Professors. A loud racket at the door to the Great Hall was all that was heard as the students gathered in the Entrance Hall. Some students could be seen going up the stairs or into the dungeons to change their clothes or gather their belongings. Harry met with Draco in the midst of it all and clutched his hand tightly as they stood watching all of the proceedings unfold before their very eyes.

Students continued to hustle and bustle about until a sharp whistle was sounded and all heads jerked up to look at the double doors that had just been flung open. Professor McGonagall nodded briefly to the students before she began pacing. "All students wishing to partake, please gather in a group over on that side of the hall," She pointed to the right, and a majority of the students rushed to the appointed area, amongst much pushing, shoving, laughing and screeching.

Some students remained where they were and McGonagall nodded to them. "Those of you who wish to help in the Hospital Ward may take your leave." The remaining students left the hall somberly. When the hall was quiet again, McGonagall spoke up. "There is no time for single file lines, so I will ask that each of you lift your wands and repeat after me." she paused for a moment and waited as the students lifted their wands. "Now, this spell is actually a very simple one, but it will not block against some of the unforgivable curses and a majority of very strong curses, so I ask that you all be careful when on the battle field." She nodded a final time, pointed her wand at herself and murmured the spell just loud enough for all to hear. "_Sheildus Sentry," _A soft, shimmering pale-blue light encircled her, before disappearing completely; it was as though she had done nothing at all.

A loud murmuring between the students could be heard, but with a stern glare from McGonagall, they all quieted and followed suit. Most people did it correctly, and all remaining professors were going through the crowd of students to make sure that the shield worked. The few that didn't perform the spell correctly were quickly rushed off to the hospital ward, where they would inevitably be spending the rest of the evening.

When the murmurings of the shielding spell finally subsided, McGonagall nodded once more. "And now," she said, her voice slightly shaking. "We begin."

Chatter rose up in all of the students as she motioned for the students to follow her. "We will be practicing in the Quidditch pitch tonight. I shall warn you to always be prepared, and to always keep your wands on hand. We may be breached at any time, and this battle will last for quite a while, I assure you." McGonagall slowly led the students out of the school and down the long, winding path towards the Quidditch Pitch. Each of her steps grew a little surer, and she looked determined, but her eyes told an entirely different story.

She continued to speak, though most of her words were lost on the students, who were excited but nervous. It wasn't until she stopped in front of them just meters away from the pitch that all attention was once again drawn to her.

"I will be the first to admit," She began, her voice once again gaining the shake that it had held earlier. "That I am scared. I am also worried, not only for my well-being, but for yours as well. I never wanted any of you to have to face this, especially at such a young age. It's not right for someone as young and susceptible as any of you to have to face such a terror first hand; it's not right for anyone to have to face what we're about to face. I know that this doesn't comfort any of you, but…" she trailed off and glanced at each of the students, their faces illuminated in the light coming from the lanterns hovering over the pitch.

"I want you all to know how…proud of you I am." she finished. She sniffed softly, and turned on her heel quickly, leading the group right into the battle-zone without second thoughts.

**XXX**

A tall man watched from the trees of the Forbidden Forest as the students passed towards the Quidditch Pitch. When they were well past him, he secured the hood of his black cloak over his head and lifted his wand, murmuring a spell. A small green light flickered from the end of his wand and flew off in the direction of his fellow Death Eaters, to inform them that the unsuspecting students were drawing nearer.

He smirked as he watched the light zoom around trees and whiz quickly to inform the Death Eaters. He knew that it would get to them faster than the students would, and they would be ready for when they came. The plan was to launch into battle almost immediately, first eliminating all foe and then allowing for their lord to go in for the kill.

Still smirking, the man stepped out of the foliage that he was hiding behind and quickly discarded his cloak, hurriedly sprinting to catch up with the end of the trail of students.

**XXX**

Harry watched as each of the students that had decided to help aligned themselves in a few neat rows, facing the Forbidden Forest. At Harry's nod, they all began to warm up their wands, using defence spells that they had all learned.

There were very few spells that the students knew to defend themselves, but Harry had been working hard on teaching himself and the DA some tactics, so he knew that he didn't have a lot to worry about as far as that was concerned; there would be adults present who would surely know more attack spells than Harry, and if it ever resorted to it, Harry would not hesitate to use an unforgivable.

Harry's jaw clenched tightly when he saw slight movements in the trees of the Forbidden Forest. He nodded to Professor McGonagall, and she sent large green sparks high into the air from her wand. All of the students straightened, lifted their wands, and readied themselves.

Seconds later, the Quidditch Pitch was swarmed with hundreds of people cloaked in black. There were screams and much yelling, and soon Harry could hardly hear anything over the shouts of curses being flung around. Many people close to him fell, petrified, knocked out, or worse…dead. Harry stood there watching it all unfold, his wand clenched at his side, searching the crowd for the one person that he was destined to kill…or be killed by.

But Harry refused to think about the latter; 'I'll live.' He thought determinedly to himself as he watched many Death Eaters fall at the hands of his fellow students. He smirked softly as he raised his wand and shot his first curse at an unsuspecting Death Eater about twenty meters away.

**XXX**

About half an hour into battle and many fallen bodies later, Voldemort was still nowhere in sight. Harry was sweating profusely and his body was aching in ways he had never known it could. His eyes were starting to hurt from the view of all of the bright curses zooming past his line of vision, and he was becoming more tired by the minute. He knew that this couldn't be good for him; by the time the actual battle came to play, he would be too tired to actually vanquish Voldemort!

Panting, Harry ducked as a bright orange curse, the origin of which he didn't know, whizzed just past his head. Seconds later, all movement ceased as a dark, tall, cloaked figure stepped out of the bushes.

The silence was deafening as all stood still, some people not even risking to breathe. A small, high pitched, malicious chuckle filled the Quidditch Pitch, echoing and making Harry cringe as he continued trying to catch his breath.

"Hello, Harry," Voldemort said, his lips curled up in a wicked smirk. "Long time, no see. You've been doing well, I'd suspect."

Harry stiffened. He felt a hand clutching onto his tightly, and he risked a quick glance to the side to confirm that it was Draco who was standing by his side and glaring seethingly at Voldemort. Voldemort chuckled again as he slowly approached Harry. His long fingers grasped Harry's chin and he forced Harry to look up at him. "Such beautiful eyes," He murmured with an evil smirk. "Your mother's eyes."

Harry's eyes filled with hatred as he yanked away roughly. "You killed my mother," Harry spat. "And now," He paused as he examined Voldemort's face. "I'm going to kill you."

Voldemort's eyes widened in surprise, then narrowed, his lips curling into a smile that sent chills down Harry's spine. "I should have known," Voldemort murmured. Shouts could be heard around them now, but Harry didn't notice as curses and spells were fired. The cries of pain and the shouts of vengeance were only background noise to him; he was on a mission.

Voldemort's smirk grew and he continued to talk, trying to get a rise out of Harry. "You're no better than me, you know. Resorting to killing. In the end, who will look like the better person? Whether you're on the light side or not, you'll look bad for murdering a fellow wizard. It's not too late, Harry. You can still join me. Together, we would be unstoppable! The strongest wizards of all time!"

Harry didn't even notice the movements of Draco next to him, who was still clutching his hand, as he shot spell after spell towards the Death Eaters, who were quickly thinning out. As Death Eaters were eliminated, more people of the light side began to arrive; the Weasleys, and even Neville's grandmother being a few of them.

His jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed as he lifted his wand and prodded Voldemort in the chest with it. Voldemort's chuckle rose over all other noise as he pushed the wand away. "You think you can kill me with that? Boy, I am much too powerful for _that_."

Harry's eyes hardened as he watched Voldemort closely. Voldemort lifted his hand, the palm facing Harry, and began to murmur words in a language that Harry couldn't understand. Harry's eyes widened and just as a large tunnel of silver light began to emit out of Voldemort's hand, he ducked, yanking Draco down with him. The tunnel of light shot out and hit someone square in the chest, and Harry could hear multiple screams as the person fell over stiffly and the tunnel of light ricocheted off of the person and hit multiple other people, who also tumbled over. Some remained on the ground, but a few people got up, determined to continue to fight.

As Harry desperately went over all of the spells and curses in his mind, Voldemort closed his hand into a fist and dropped his arm to his side. "Bring me the rose," He shouted, his eyes never leaving Harry's.

Seconds later, a familiar-looking red head was standing by Voldemort's shoulder, withdrawing a very familiar-looking rose from his trousers pocket. Harry gasped as the rose was handed to Voldemort, a bright silver light encasing the whole of Voldemort's hand and emitting from the rose.

Slowly, Voldemort's whole arm was consumed with the light, then his shoulder, his neck, his head, the whole upper-half of his body, and finally, his whole body. The rose withered in his hand and fell to the ground in a pile of dust, and Voldemort cackled evilly as the light slowly consumed the whole Quidditch Pitch.

When the light had cleared, Voldemort stood staring down at Harry, looking almost exactly as he had when he had been in school himself. He smirked down at Harry and said, "Yes…I have power."

**A/N: **Cookies to all who have figured out the purpose of the rose! Sorry about the cliffy, I'll update again as soon as possible, promise! _:Author ducks any and all flying rotten food: _Please don't kill me!


	17. The Defeat of Voldemort

**A/N: **A HUGE thanks to my new, wonderful beta, Dynamite!

**Chapter Seventeen**

**The Defeat of Voldemort**

Dumbledore stood at the far back edge of the mass of people who were in the midst of battle. His lips were curled down in a grim frown and the twinkle had left his eyes. When Ronald Weasley had popped up at Voldemort's side, Dumbledore knew exactly what was going on. He was frightened of what was to happen, and even scared to say it to anyone else. He hoped that he was wrong, and that maybe no one else had noticed it.

But he was horribly mistaken. The Weasleys all stood in shock as they stared at Ron, who was smirking at the crowd, his blue eyes twinkling menacingly. The war continued around them, but for the Weasleys, time stood still.

How could Molly's precious baby boy be standing there by the side of the man who had killed hundreds of thousands of wizards and still seemed to be proud of it? Molly just couldn't understand it. She felt as though she was going to faint. This was even worse than the time the bogart had impersonated Ron being dead; Ron might as well have been dead so much as she was concerned. But where had she gone wrong? Why had Ron turned to this?

This was something that Molly might have expected Percy to do, but not Ron. Not the boy who had fought long and hard _against _Voldemort alongside Harry, who was just as much of a son to her as Ron himself, had been. That seemed like ages ago, now.

Molly couldn't help but blame herself; after all, they had never been exactly rich. But Molly had laved her family with love; how could it end up like this? Ronald had never gotten everything that he wanted, never anything new or anything that he thought he deserved, but Molly thought he had been satisfied. His best friend was the Boy-Who-Lived, for Merlin's sake! How many people could advertise themselves as such?

Apparently, Molly had been mistaken. She didn't want to fight against her youngest son, especially when all the rest of her sons and her daughter and husband would have to fight against him as well; what had led him to this path, exactly?

Molly's gaze narrowed at the leering figure of Tom Riddle. She pursed her lips and fought hard to control the rage that was building deep inside of her and threatening to pour over. She knew that it was Harry's job to kill off this evil creature in the long run, but how could the horrible man have done this to so many? Molly had found herself wondering this many times in the past. She was tired of wondering.

The man may have lead a bad life before he came to Hogwarts, but that didn't mean that all muggles were as bad as the ones that he had grown up with. Harry had had a bad home life as well, but he hadn't turned out to be a mass murderer.

Molly's face fell when she realized what was about to happen; Harry would be charged with the murder of Voldemort after everything was all done and over with. She knew how the wizard judicial system worked. It couldn't turn out good for Harry, especially with Scrimgeour as Minister of Magic, who disliked Harry even more than Fudge had.

**XXX**

Dumbledore stood at Harry's side and glared at Voldemort angrily. "Using the rose as a Horcrux," Dumbledore said, his voice icy and the normally constant twinkle in his eyes nowhere to be found. "Very clever indeed, Tom."

Voldemort sneered and Harry looked over at Dumbledore in amazement. "When did you get here?" he asked in confusion.

Dumbledore shook his head and continued to stare Voldemort directly in the eye. Harry got to his feet and brushed his knees off, being sure to watch Voldemort in case of any unexpected curse flinging.

"I expect," Dumbledore continued, ignoring Harry completely now. "That some of the properties of the rose have exchanged into you now. Am I correct?"

Voldemort sneered, though it was obvious that he was slightly afraid of Dumbledore. "You would be, Dumbledore. But you cannot vanquish me now. It is I that shall be doing the vanquishing here, tonight." His eyes flashed in Harry's direction and a smirk curled the corners of his lips up. "The only person I see out of the three of us getting out of here tonight would be myself," he said, his eyes sparkling menacingly.

"Exactly what properties have you inherited?" Harry asked, his eyes moving from Voldemort to Dumbledore and back again.

Voldemort licked his lips and sneered. "Immortality," he said in a silky near-whisper.

"No," Dumbledore corrected. "Near immortality,"

Voldemort hissed and lunged at Dumbledore. "I am immortal!" He cried out as he knocked Dumbledore to the ground and stood over him, his eyes flaming in anger.

"Harry," Hermione cried out. "Slate Smoke! We need slate smoke!"

"Slate smoke?" Harry asked as he desperately watched Voldemort begin to cast a spell on Dumbledore that was surely an unforgivable.

"Yes! Think about it, Harry. If he's inherited some of the good traits from the rose, he's had to inherit some of the bad traits as well!"

"But slate smoke's only created by-"

"Grandir, Orphius Mortalicus!" Harry looked over to Hermione to see that she was pointing her wand at the ground and an odd-looking blue-tinged plant growing out of the ground at a quick rate. Hermione nodded grimly at him, then pointed her wand at the plant. With a deep breath, she whispered, "Agrandir,"

Immediately, the plant began smoking. The smoke was thick and dark, and it smelled disgusting.

"Harry," Hermione croaked, her eyes watering slightly. "It's not going to be enough. The fumes are toxic. We may all die right now. I'll evacuate the premises, you do what you have to do while he's still weak!"

Harry looked at Hermione, then he looked at Voldemort, who was still muttering a curse under his breath as he held his palm directly above Dumbledore.

With a determined nod, Harry muttered, "Accio, Dumbledore!" When Dumbledore's body shot toward him, he moved aside and Dumbledore landed on the ground with a great thump. Harry's eyes narrowed at Voldemort and he stepped closer.

Faintly, Harry could hear Hermione muttering the sonorous charm, but he ignored completely what she was saying to the crowd that had stopped fighting and was now fleeing.

Voldemort, of course, was quite enraged at the fact that Harry had had the nerve to take Dumbledore away right under his nose. He glared at Harry, his eyes slits. Then, he smelled the rancid scent of the slate smoke. He sneered at Harry as he stepped forward and grasped his chin.

"Is this the best that you can do, boy?" he hissed, his eyes gleaming. "What is that rancid smell, anyway? Is it supposed to cast away my followers? It seems that it has yours."

Harry smirked. He had the upper hand, this time. "No, actually. But good guess."

"Explain yourself, boy!" Voldemort roared, unused to the kind of disrespect that Harry was currently showing him.

"It's slate smoke, actually," Harry grinned, his emerald eyes flashing gray. "It kills the Everafter rose,"

Voldemort's eyes widened, and Harry grinned. "You didn't! You wouldn't risk your own life and that of your followers! You couldn't!" But his eyes shone with doubt of the words that were spilling from his mouth.

"My followers," Harry said through gritted teeth. "Are smart enough to know when it's over. And believe me when I say that they are quite protected." With that, Harry raised his wand. He could see Voldemort weakening; losing the power that had been restored to him, almost as quickly as he had regained it. Now was the time for him to strike.

The only problem was that it was getting harder for him to breathe, and his eyesight was becoming blurry.

"Fool!" Voldemort choked out as he fell to his knees. "You may kill me, but at what cost to yourself? You will die here tonight, I swear it!"

Harry choked on the smoke that was quickly invading his lungs. His vision finally became non-existent as his eyes closed of their own accord to stop the smoke from getting into them and hindering his vision for the rest of his life. Faintly, Harry could hear a voice somewhere in the background. "The bubble-head charm, Harry! Use the bubble-head charm!"

"Bubble-head?" Harry asked, but the words came out in a jumbled mess that no one would ever be able to decipher. "Of course!" with that, Harry forced himself to use the last of his strength to raise his wand up and flick it at his head, the bubble appearing quite suddenly around his head and allowing him to breath in the dense, fog-like smoke.

Harry could see the shapes of two bodies. One was Voldemort's, kneeling on the ground and choking on the smoke, struggling for his life. Harry couldn't be sure of who the other person was, but right now it wasn't important.

He nodded gravely and raised his wand one final time. He was hesitant to use the curse that he knew he had to use, but if he didn't use it fast, there was no telling what may happen, so he inhaled deeply, held his breath, and shouted, "Avada Kedavra!"

"Harry, no!"

But it was too late. The bright green light was blindingly intense. Voldemort made one attempt to raise himself up and protect himself with his arms, but he was too slow under the affect of the killing curse. His lifeless body dropped limply down to the bloodstained ground and Harry stood over him triumphantly, looking down at him. Just to make sure he was dead, Harry summoned a long silver dagger and knelt down next to the limp body of the former Lord Voldemort.

Swiftly, he drew the knife back and stabbed Voldemort repeatedly in the back with the dagger.

As the foggy smoke began to fade, Harry could see the lifeless forms of bodies of witches and wizards that had fallen in the final battle. He bowed his head as he thought of all the people who had died for the cause, for his cause. It was his fault. Some of the bodies hadn't fallen because of curses shot their way; rather, they had fallen because they were too slow to get away from the foggy slate smoke; they had gotten caught in something that they hadn't had to get caught in. If only Harry had warned them, if only he had…

"Harry, why!" Harry heard someone screech. He jerked his head up and his emerald eyes met with a pair of molten silver, which were overflowing with tears. "Why did you use that curse? Anything else would have had a similar affect, especially with Voldemort being as weak as he is. Why that one? You know that you're going to get in trouble with the Ministry now, don't you? You can't leave me, Harry! You just can't! I don't want you to be put in Azkaban!"

Harry's shoulders slumped in defeat as Draco rushed towards him from the bushes that he had been hiding in with the rest of the people that had managed to escape the slate smoke. "Why?" Draco asked as he stumbled to Harry and fell to his knees in front of him. Draco cradled his head in Harry's lap and began sobbing. "You can't leave me! Please, don't leave me!"

Harry closed his eyes and ran his fingers through Draco's silky hair. He sighed and dropped his chin to his chest as the bubblehead charm began to wear off.

A tall shadow fell over Harry and he glanced up to meet twinkling blue eyes. Dumbledore smiled mysteriously at him and nodded. "I believe, Mr. Malfoy," he began, "That Mr. Potter here knew what he was doing when he did it. And I can assure you," Dumbledore placed a consoling hand on Draco's shoulder as he spoke. "That Mr. Potter will not go to Azkaban as far as I'm concerned."

Draco lifted his tear-streaked face and glared at Dumbledore. "You _can't _assure that!" He cried, burying his face in Harry's lap once again. The tears had stopped, but Draco still took comfort in being close to Harry, and refused to get up even though Harry was insistently nudging him in the ribs.

Dumbledore shook his head and extended a hand to Harry. "Mr. Potter," He said. "I must compliment you on your courageousness."

"Courageousness!" Draco snorted. "He nearly got himself _killed _because of his _stupidity_. It wasn't courageousness, I can assure you _that_!"

Dumbledore ignored Draco's interjections and shook Harry's hand. "You have officially vanquished the Dark Lord Voldemort."

Harry closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "It wasn't just me," He admitted, his eyes still closed. "Hermione helped. She was the one who summoned the Orphius Mortalicus. And she was the one who told me to use the bubble-head charm."

Dumbledore's eyes lost some of their twinkle, and he looked across the pitch where a lump of a body, with a bunch of red frizz at the top lay. "I'm afraid, Harry," Dumbledore corrected, "That it indeed was not Miss Granger that told you about the bubble-head charm, but instead, Molly Weasley."

Harry's mouth dropped open and he looked to where Dumbledore's eyes had trailed. "No!" Harry shouted. "She's not dead, is she? She can't be!"

Dumbledore averted his eyes and Harry could see a single tear flowing out of his eye and trailing down his weathered cheek. Harry's eyes widened and he lunged out from under Draco's body and towards the prone form of Mrs. Weasley. "No! Mrs. Weasley, please get up! You can't be dead! Please, don't be dead!"

Draco watched as Harry drew his wand and cast the 'enervate' charm over and over again without avail. "Please, Mrs. Weasley," Harry sobbed finally, after multiple attempts of the 'enervate' charm. He buried his face in Molly's bosom and sobbed his heart out. "Don't be dead! Please! Get up! You're not dead! You're not dead…"

Finally, Harry's pleading trailed out and he was left sobbing next to Mrs. Weasley's body. Draco finally had to go and pry Harry's sobbing body from that of Mrs. Weasley's. "Harry, there's nothing we can do now. She knew the risks; she put herself in danger for you. She loved you, Harry. She wouldn't have done that if she didn't."

Apparently, Draco hadn't said the right thing, as Harry burst into a fresh set of tears. "Leave me alone!" Harry begged as he threw himself back at Molly's body. "She was the only semblance of a family that I had left, and now she's gone! Please don't leave me, Molly! Please!" Harry reverted back to his begging, even though it got him nowhere.

"Harry," Harry could feel the hand of Dumbledore on his own shoulder this time, and he angrily threw it off.

"Don't touch me," He snarled as he stood on shaky legs. "Don't you dare touch me!"

With that, he scrambled into the Forbidden Forest, Draco and Dumbledore watching after him.

"We've got to go after him!" Draco cried out as he took a step to follow Harry.

Dumbledore's hand on his shoulder restrained him. "No," he said. "He needs to do this alone."

"But there are still Death Eaters out there!" Draco protested.

Dumbledore looked at him, his blue eyes knowing and still twinkling even after everything that had happened. "I know, Mr. Malfoy. But Harry has now defeated the Darkest Wizard of all time. Do you truly think that he cannot handle a few Death Eaters?"

"Not if he's attacked from behind, he can't!" Draco cried, wrenching Dumbledore's hand from his shoulder and racing away from him as fast as he could. "Harry, come back here! There are still Death Eaters out here!"

**XXX**

Lucius Malfoy watched his son run into the forest angrily. How _dare _that little bastard fight on Potter's side! How _dare _that little faggot fall in love with Potter! How _dare _that little…ungrateful…ungrateful…imp! Yes, how _dare _that ungrateful imp…just…how _dare _he!

Lucius was too angry to form words, let alone think them. His bastard son had betrayed him and his master, and Lucius was going to teach his son…no, Draco was no longer a Malfoy. Malfoys did not betray the trust of their masters. Draco…was going to be taught to never mess with the Malfoy name.

Lucius wasn't going to kill Draco. No, that would be getting him off easy. He needed to learn his lesson. And what a lesson it would be…

Lucius stepped into the bushes and slowly followed his son into the depths of the woods, a smirk dawning on his face as he sought vengeance for his lord.

**XXXXXXiXXXXXX**

**A/N: **If you're fluent in French, I'm sure that you know that the words Hermione used when summoning and enlarging the Orphius Mortalicus _were _French. Yay!

If you're not fluent in French, here's a little lesson for you!

_Grandir - Grow_

_Agrandir - Enlarge_

I'm not a very creative person when it comes to spells and potions, therefore the use of French. (There may already be spells of this kind, though I couldn't think of them at the timeI wrote this chapter. If there are, please don't hesitate to point out my errors!)The next chapter will be coming up soon. Yes, there will be lots of drama, but I promise not to make Harry and Draco (or you!) suffer _much _more.


	18. One Last Battle

**Chapter 18**

**One Last Battle**

Everything was blurry. How long had he been asleep? He sat up and rubbed his eyes and looked blearily around. He was in the hospital wing of Hogwarts. '_How did I get here?'_

The last thing Ronald Weasley remembered was being told that Hermione was pregnant. Of course, that was great news, but Ron wasn't ready for that type of responsibility. He was only seventeen, for Merlin's sake! Hermione being pregnant had been a shock, but he was sure that they would be able to cope with it.

But something was off. Hermione was pregnant, and here he was lying in the hospital wing!

Somewhere in a distant corner of the room, someone cleared their throat. Ron's head immediately shot up as he glanced to where the noise had originated. Dumbledore stood there, watching him closely, his eyes slightly dull compared to the luster they had held the last time Ron had seen him. "Professor?" Ron asked. His throat was sore and parched, though he didn't feel it necessary to tell Dumbledore that at the present time.

"Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore nodded in greeting as he worked his way around all of the other beds crammed into the hospital wing. Ron squinted for a moment, then realized that there were people in all of the beds, and there were way more beds than usual.

"Professor, why's everybody in here? Is there an infection going around or something?" Ron asked as he stared at a bed particularly close to him, on which a fourth year Slytherin girl was laying.

"No, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore stood over Ron's bed and stared down at him with a knowing, gleam in his eyes. His lips were pressed into a thin, grim line. "Mr. Weasley, what is the last thing you can recall before tonight?"

Ron shot Dumbledore a weird look. "What do you mean? Why?"

Dumbledore shook his head. "Ronald, it is crucial that you tell me your most recent memory; we must know when you were put under the _Endograveto_ curse."

Ron blinked. "But professor, there's no such-"

"Mr. Weasley, your most current memory, please."

"Well…" Ron eyed Dumbledore distrustingly.

"Ron," Dumbledore began sternly. "If you do not tell me, I will be forced to bring it out of you. I do not want to resort to this, but two students' lives are in danger!"

Ron paled. "Who?"

Dumbledore sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy." He said after a moment's hesitation.

"H…Harry?" Ron's eyes widened.

"Yes, Mr. Weasley, Harry."

Ron gulped. "Well," he said. "The last thing I remember is Hermione telling me that she's pregnant." He looked at Dumbledore again as if wondering if he should go on or not, but Dumbledore didn't look in the least bit surprised, so he continued. "I remember being surprised; that wasn't supposed to happen. But I think that maybe we can cope with it."

Dumbledore nodded and stepped away. "Um, Professor?" Ron asked, and Dumbledore turned on his heel and looked at Ron sharply.

"Harry…uh, he'll be okay, won't he?"

Dumbledore's face fell. "I do not know, Mr. Weasley. At this moment, nothing is certain."

**XXX**

Lucius followed the sound of crashing and quickly came upon a clearing, in which Draco and Harry were rolling around, clinging to each other. Whether they were fighting or making out, Lucius couldn't tell, but it still made him angry.

Stepping into the clearing, Lucius raised his wand, pointed it to the couple, and cleared his throat loudly.

Draco jerked away from Harry, face flushed. His eyes widened when he caught sight of who was standing there, and he immediately jumped to his feet, nearly shaking with fear.

"F…father," Draco stuttered out, backing up against a tree.

Lucius looked at his son coldly, his gaze unwavering. His lips were pursed, which caused Draco to cower even closer to the tree. Harry watched the silent exchange between the two silently as he slowly lifted himself to his feet.

"Mr. Malfoy," Harry greeted, his expression unreadable.

Lucius' gaze turned to Harry and his lips curled into a smirk. "Ah, Mr. Potter. It has been far too long."

Lucius stayed where he was, glaring between the two men silently.

Draco eventually became bolder, and he finally pulled away from the tree, straightening his back and setting his shoulders.

"What do you want, father?"

"Do not address me as such, Draco," Lucius said, glaring harshly.

Draco's brow furrowed, but he didn't say anything.

"You are fraternizing with the enemy," Lucius went on to explain. "And this shall not go overlooked. By me, _or _any of the _other _Death Eaters. After all that I have done for you, this is how you repay me, boy?" Lucius motioned towards Harry angrily before continuing.

Draco had tuned him out by the time his father had finally finished with his outraged, one-sided screaming match. He was busily trying to find a way out of the grave he had dug himself into when he was yanked from his musings by a huge wave of pain that caused his knees to give out from under him and his whole body to convulse.

"Draco!"

Draco could hear someone screaming his name somewhere in the distance, but the pain was quickly eating him alive from inside, and he rapidly lost consciousness.

**XXX**

"Professor, what's the _Endograveto_ curse?"

Dumbledore glanced at Hermione's bed, his eyes gleaming. "Well, Miss Granger, I thought you of all people would know what it is, but I shall explain. It is similar to the Imperius Curse, with other affects similar to the jinx that Ginny Weasley was put under in your second year here at Hogwarts. The only problem here is that the victim is fully conscious of the choices he or she is making.

"You see, Miss Granger, the curse brings out the worst in people. Of course, Ron can still be held responsible for the actions that he has performed, but there are certain aspects to his actions that are not entirely his fault. The curse messes with the mind of the victim, so although the actions are made consciously, they are also pushed upon the victim."

Hermione nodded in understanding. "And Voldemort put Ron under this curse?" she asked.

"This, I cannot tell," Dumbledore said with a frown. "The curse is very hard to trace; it was only recently found by Aurors because it was used on Avery Whitman who was a very reliable informant to them a few years back."

Hermione's brow furrowed as she tried to work out what Dumbledore was saying. "This is all confusing, Professor," She said after a long bout of silence. "So Ron acted upon dark feelings towards Harry, he knew that he was doing it, but he wouldn't have carried out the actions without being put under the curse?"

Dumbledore looked away and a thoughtful expression crossed his face. "I'm afraid that I've been saying this a lot, Miss Granger, but it's true that I don't quite know."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked, completely confused now.

"I mean that I don't quite know if Mr. Weasley would have joined Voldemort eventually if the war hadn't ended today, or not. With these types of curses, it is always hard to be sure."

"So…there's a chance that Ron might have turned on us?" Hermione asked with fear in her voice. "Is there still a chance that he will?"

Dumbledore just shook his head. "It's hard to be sure," he replied quietly, before making his way out of the room.

**XXX**

Lucius finished his '_Crucio_' spell with a flourish before turning to Harry with a menacing grin curling his lips into an angry slash of red on his otherwise pale face. "Who would have known that the man I've raised since birth would turn out to be such a weakling?" he asked, his voice quiet but threatening at the same time. "He's not like you, though, Harry," he continued. "You faced the Dark Lord. You were put to death by the Dark Lord's own hand, and yet you survived.

"For seven years, you have been facing the Dark Lord, knowing that a day like this would come. And you've succeeded in banishing Him. But you must know by now that He will come back. Only an idiot wouldn't know.

"And He will be vengeful. But you can still join our ranks. You still have a chance." Lucius paused to look questioningly at Harry, who was glaring at him angrily as he stood over Draco's unconscious form protectively. When Harry shook his head curtly, Lucius nodded. "I should have known that you would not come willingly. Very well, then."

With that, Lucius drew up the left sleeve of his black robes and touched the dark mark on his wrist with his wand. His eyes glimmered cruelly at Harry for a few moments, before he muttered a soft curse under his breath. The snake within the skull's mouth writhed as Lucius gritted his teeth. Seconds later, two flashes of green light flew straight over Harry's head and landed on either side of Lucius.

The flashes of light turned out to be two Death Eaters, and though they were masked, Harry could tell that they were Pansy and Goyle's fathers. "Where's Wormtail?" Lucius asked with a glare towards Goyle Senior.

The man cringed but answered. "Dead, sir,"

Lucius sighed angrily before looking back at Harry. "His doing?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"No, sir," Mr. Parkinson answered. "Weasley's."

Lucius' eyes narrowed and he glared back at Mr. Parkinson. "Which one?" he demanded curtly.

"That girl. I don't remember her name."

"Which _one?"_ Lucius repeated, causing Mr. Parkinson to cringe away from the glowering Malfoy.

"The sixth year." He answered with a shudder. "Jenny, I believe."

"Ginny," Lucius corrected, then looked back at Harry, smirking. "I believe we'll have to put her in her place as well, then, won't we? She can't go around killing off our valuable servants, now, can she?"

Harry's eyes widened and he slowly began to lift his wand. He stopped abruptly when Goyle Senior stepped up and said, "I'm afraid not, Lucius. She's already dead,"

Lucius' smirk grew into a sneer as he watched Harry's actions closely. Harry closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

"Did you love her, boy?" Lucius asked in way of conversation.

Harry refused to reply, and Lucius grinned. "Love only hinders, and you'll do well to remember that."

When Harry's eyes opened, they were flashing between gray and an angry shade of red. Lucius gasped and took a step back. He fumbled with his wand for a moment before it dropped to the ground. Before he could pick it up again, he was hit square in the chest with a '_Crucio_' from Harry.

The other Death Eaters stood back and watched Harry with awe. When Harry released Lucius from the curse, he lay limply on the ground, gasping for breath. Harry grinned at him superiorly. His eyes gleamed menacingly and he leaned down and grasped Lucius' chin tighter than necessary.

Lucius glared up at him. "I didn't know you had it in you, boy," he muttered between pants. "I'll make sure that it doesn't happen again."

With a smirk, he lifted his hand from behind him, victoriously holding his wand up for all to see.

"Avada Ked-"

His curse was abruptly cut off by another one, which was aimed directly towards him. "Expelliarmis!"

All eyes swung in the direction that the spell had come from, to find Draco, propped up on his elbows and laying on his stomach as he panted for breath. Harry smiled warmly at him before turning back to his father.

Lucius' wand had landed directly in front of Harry, and he picked it up with a smirk before breaking it in half. "Can't be much useful like this," he said, his eyes glittering. Lucius knew then what was to come, and he knew that he was doomed.

"Any last words?" Harry asked, smiling.

Lucius' eyes narrowed as he glared at Harry. Harry sneered, then pulled away enough to be able to aim his wand properly. He was surprised when Lucius spat directly in his face.

Harry raised his hand to touch the wet, sticky warmth that had landed on his cheek. He looked at his wet fingers disgustedly before glaring at Lucius. "That's it, then," he said, wiping the spit onto his trousers.

With that, he drew his wand back, and shot the killing curse point blank at Lucius.

Lucius didn't so much as shudder.

**XXX**

If you wanted to, you could probably say that he died peacefully. There are some people who choose to believe so. After all, the only person that's ever survived the killing curse was far too young to remember now if the curse hurt at all. So who's to say that the killing curse causes any pain?

**A/N: **Hopefully, this chapter doesn't disappoint you. Of course, this isn't the last chapter; there is one final chapter to go, and it should be up soon. I know I promised not too much more suffering, and to tell you the truth, I didn't quite have the heart to put Harry and Draco through too much this time around, so this chapter is (hopefully) suffer-free, for the most part.

My apologies for the late chapter, but so far, I've re-written it three times. I wanted to make everything perfect for the almost-finale; please let me know if I have!


	19. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_One year later…_

A curly brown haired girl stood on wobbly legs as she held herself up by clutching to a coffee table. Hermione smiled lovingly at her daughter and watched as she attempted to walk over to a black haired baby who was sitting with his back turned to her on the other side of the room, clutching a rattle and slamming in into the floor loudly.

Harry and Draco sat on a couch across from the wobbly little girl, Draco holding a second girl with wisps of straight blonde hair and green eyes. The girl was sleeping serenely, sucking gently on a tiny thumb as she cuddled into her father.

The trial over Harry using more than one unforgivable was over, Harry having won hands down. Harry and Draco had just moved into a nice home similar to the one that Draco had lived in when he was a small boy; it was elegant and tall, with three floors. Harry and Draco shared one wing of the house, while each of their children had one of their own, though most nights they slept with their parents, all cuddled up on one gigantic bed.

Hermione had married a nice muggle doctor and was once again pregnant, this time with a boy. Ron was not married yet, but he was engaged to Pansy Parkinson, weird as it may be.

Harry found it odd that all of his friends were going to get married off while they were so young; he and Draco had decided to wait to have an official wedding ceremony for at least another few years. They wanted their children to be old enough to remember it.

It had not been very hard for Draco to get over his father's death; he had been conscious when Harry had killed him, and he was actually rather grateful. Of course, Narcissa was a whole different story, but Draco figured that eventually her grief would pass. And in the meantime, she was a great grandmother. She hid her sadness well when she was with the little ones.

Everyone really missed Hogwarts. After Harry's trial had started, the victory of the Wizarding world had worn off a little bit, and everything had gone back to normal. Of course, the Ministry allowed Hermione, Draco and Harry to finish their seventh year at the school that they loved, but Ron had not. It was still questionable that he would remain on the light side after the events that had occurred. No one wanted Ronald Weasley to be the next Dark Lord.

After they had graduated from Hogwarts, Hermione had started a job as an Auror, and Draco had started in professional Quidditch as a Seeker for the Falmouth Falcons _(1)_. Harry, for the most part, still didn't have a job, but he was hoping to study medicine some day. He wasn't quite sure if he wanted to be a doctor for muggles or a healer for wizards yet, so he refrained from making any decisions until he was certain he knew what he wanted.

Harry's attention was drawn away from the unsteady girl standing at the coffee table when his daughter began wailing in Draco's arms. Draco stared at the usually quiet little girl bewilderedly; he still hadn't gotten used to the young girl's cries.

Harry smiled softly at Draco and took the girl from Draco's possessive arms, though Draco was quite resistant to give her up.

The young girl continued to wail until she was handed to Harry. Her wails slowly became whimpers as Harry coddled her tightly to himself. She slowly drifted off to sleep, her head on Harry's shoulder. Her plump baby cheeks were bright pink from the exertion it took to cry, and they were still slightly moist, but Draco leaned in and kissed one anyway.

Then he laid his head in Harry's lap and stroked his thigh suggestively.

Harry shook his head and smirked at his boyfriend's antics, but he pushed Draco's head out of his lap anyway. He stood and stretched languidly before he collected their son in his other arm, though the young boy continued to pound anything and everything near with a rattle that would soon be broken if he didn't stop, and raced up the stairs with them.

When both children were safely deposited in their own individual cribs, Harry raced back down the stairs, grabbed Draco's hand and hauled him up the stairs behind him as he ran like a madman towards the bedroom without even excusing them from their guest.

Hermione smirked gently and continued to watch her daughter, who was looking curiously at the spot where the dark haired boy had once been. Never had she more than wanted to know what her sweet little girl was thinking than she did now.

**XXX**

_(1)_The falcons wear dark-gray and white robes with a falcon-head emblem across the chest. The Falcons are known for hard play, a reputation consolidated by their world-famous Beaters, Kevin and Karl Broadmoor, who played for the club from 1958 to 1969 and whose antics resulted in no fewer than fourteen suspensions from the Department of Magical Games and Sports. Club motto: "Let us win, but if we cannot win, let us break a few heads."

Page 34, paperback copy of QUIDDITCH THROUGH THE AGES, by Kennilworthy Whisp. _(Copyright 2001 by J.K. Rowling. All rights reserved. Published by Scholastic Press.) _

**A/N: **Yes, short but sweet. Please be looking out for the sequel, which will be coming out shortly. I hope to have it finished by late April to mid-May, but there are no promises. I will not begin posting that until it is finished being written, that way there won't be such a long wait between chapters.

This is my first complete fic! YAY! Review and tell me what you think. I may be susceptible to any suggestions that you, the reader, may have for the sequel, so get to it!


	20. Follow Up

**Follow Up**

**A/N: **I'm sure a lot of you are eagerly awaiting a sequel to this fic. Unfortunately, I have been rather caught up in my day-to-day life lately, and have not been able to work on it. I can guarantee quite a few things, for you now, though! The next installment shall have TONS of smutt, WAFF, and angst. Here is a preview of the first chapter for all of you who have been patiently waiting for it (actually, it's the entire first chapter, with the smutt carefully edited out, in order to follow FF's guidelines).

_Just as Harry and Draco had drifted to sleep in each other's arms, a wail came from the room next to theirs, where their children had recently taken up residence. Draco jerked awake first. Sighing softly, he tried to slip inconspicuously from under Harry, but had forgotten that Harry had yet to withdraw from him, which led to more stumbling about than it was worth. _

_Frustrated, Draco shook Harry awake. "Rebecca's crying again," he whispered when Harry blinked blearily awake. _

_Harry shrugged and rolled over, and in seconds, he was snoring again. Draco rolled his eyes and staggered, half-asleep, from the room, sheets draped around his hips to hide his nudity. _

_The door to Rebecca's temporary room swung open slowly and Draco crept his way in silently. His silent attempt to steal into the room was quickly thrown out the window when Rebecca screamed once more. "Daddy! Daddy!"_

_Draco rubbed his face tiredly, then walked over to Rebecca's bed silently and plopped down beside her tiny form, a lump beneath the sheets, pulled up into a tight ball. "What is it, Becca?" He asked, placing a comforting hand over her trembling form in hopes that it would console her. _

"_The bad man!" Rebecca wailed. Draco sighed once more and collected the young girl into his arms. _

"_Shh," Draco comforted, rocking the child slightly. "It's okay now, Daddy's here. What did the bad man do this time?"_

_Draco was familiar with the dreams that his daughter was prone to. They had been happening since the young girl's second birthday. Draco had suspected that night that it had been too much birthday cake or the like, but it had been nearly three years since, and she still woke up in the middle of the night wailing. _

"_He hurted papa!" Rebecca cried, burying her face in Draco's shoulder. Draco sighed and closed his eyes. The young girl's dream had always been the same, but he had hoped that one day it would change. _

"_What did the bad man do to papa?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. They went through the same routine at least twice a week, and though it was quite repetitive and tiring, it seemed to comfort the young girl, so he continued to do it._

"_He pointed his wand at papa and used a bad curse!" she wailed once more, and Draco rubbed her back and held her tight._

"_What was the bad curse?" he asked, though he knew the answer to this one, too._

"_The one that hurts. And papa fell over, and he wouldn't get up!" A few tears trailed down the five-year-old's face, though she seemed to be calming down slightly now. _

"_Do you want to sleep with me and papa again tonight?" Draco asked. _

_The young child nodded and rubbed her eyes sleepily with a curled up fist. Draco stood up with the young girl and all of her blankets held tightly in his arms and made his way carefully past scattered toys that seemed to throw themselves directly in his way to slow him down as he walked slowly towards the door. When he got there, he nearly ran smack into Harry's broad chest as Harry stood in the doorway. _

_Harry smirked softly and looked at the little girl who was bundled, already half-asleep, in Draco's arms, his face softening. "Bad dream?" he whispered, and Draco nodded. _

"_The same one," he said, his forehead creasing slightly in worry. _

_Harry nodded and wrapped an arm around Draco's waist. He led him to their room and kicked the door open for them quickly so that Draco wouldn't have to wait long. Harry climbed into the bed while Draco waited at the side. When he was settled, he reached his arms out for Rebecca, and Draco handed her to him quickly. Harry settled her in between himself and Draco, and wrapped her up in a tight embrace on one side while Draco did the same on her other. _

_He smiled across the serene face of their daughter at Draco, and leaned over for a quick peck on the lips from his boyfriend before both drifted to sleep and didn't wake again until the morning. _

_**XXX**_

"_Daddy, Papa, wake up!" Harry and Draco woke to two little children jumping up and down excitedly on their bed. _

"_Wha' time is it?" Harry slurred. Draco blearily glanced at the floating alarm clock by their bed and sighed._

"_Nine," he mumbled, before rolling over and attempting to fall back asleep._

_Harry groaned and rose from the bed. Everyone who knew Draco knew that he wasn't a morning person, and the jumping wasn't making him any happier. _

"_Come on, guys," Harry said after a long yawn and bout of stretching. "Let's go down to the kitchen and make daddy some breakfast, huh?"_

_Both children's eyes lit up and the jumped off the bed and raced down the stairs. Harry followed at a much slower pace. _

_When Harry entered the kitchen, the counter was already a mess of flour and milk, and he grinned softly while scratching his head and watching his daughter working excitedly she stirred a strange looking concoction in a large, plastic blue bowl. His son silently stood at his side, a blanket in one hand, dragging along the ground, and his thumb stuck in his mouth. _

_Andrew was small for his age, with unruly raven hair and soulful grey eyes that seemed to see everything and understand it all at once in a way that a normal five-year-old shouldn't be able to. Harry smiled softly in reminiscence as he bent over and picked up his son in one swoop with a loud, over-exaggerated grunt. _

"_So, kiddo, what do you think Becca's making for us this morning?" he asked as he carried his son over to the island that his daughter was working frantically at. He sat Andrew on one side of the island and stood in front of him to make sure he was safe, while carefully looking over Andrew's shoulder to watch Becca. _

_The blonde little girl was grinning madly as she finished stirring the white, sticky batter, her face already smudged with flour and her wispy, thin hair flying around everywhere. This was a usual morning ritual nowadays, because the five-year-old loved to cook. Though she didn't usually cook right at all, it wasn't something that a simple spell couldn't cure, so Harry and Draco let her have her way with the kitchen. _

_Becca gave one final stir, then smiled warmly up at Harry, her eyes completely glowing. "Pancakes!" she said, then jumped off the bar stool that she had been sitting on and walked over to the stove to wait for Harry to help her. _

_Andrew held his arms out for Harry to get him off the island, and when he was firmly standing on his own two feet, Harry smiled, grasped his hand, and led him over to the stove as well. _

_Harry grabbed the blue bowl from the island and quickly spelled it into real batter instead of the mess that Becca had conjured. Then he walked over to the stove and proceeded to show the children for at least the hundred-thousandth time in their lives, exactly how pancakes were made. _

_**XXX**_

_Three hours later, Draco finally emerged from his and Harry's shared bedroom, his hair in disarray, his cheeks flushed and puffy from sleep, but looking very well rested. When he saw Harry and their children cuddled up on the couch in the living room watching Saturday morning cartoons, his face broke into a splitting grin. _

_  
"What's for breakfast, you three?" he asked as he threw himself on the couch and made faces and tickled Andrew, who squirmed and smiled at Draco's silly antics. _

"_We already had breakfast, daddy," the normally quiet five-year-old answered. "You slepted too late. We ate it all." _

_Andrew stuck his tongue out at Draco, and Draco blinked in surprise. "You ate it all?" he asked in mock disbelief. "And you didn't wake me?" _

_Andrew smiled a childish, evil little smile, the said, "It wasn't me who at it all, silly. It was papa!"_

_Harry smirked at Draco and stuck his tongue out like Andrew had done previously. Draco snorted and wrapped his arms around his son, drawing Andrew into his lap so he could scoot closer to Harry, who was holding Becca in his lap similarly. _

_The rest of the day went by rather uneventfully. Harry and Draco snuck kisses and gropes while their children watched programs on the television or while they were gone from the room, either using the bathroom or gathering more toys to add to the growing collection that was gathering in the middle of their living room._

_The toys had seemed to manifest themselves there sometime over the lazy summer, and neither Draco nor Harry had the hearts to make their kids take the toys back to their rooms, so they stayed, the pile growing bigger daily. _

_At one such opportunity, when both children were out of the room, Harry and Draco broke apart from a long, heated kiss. Draco cradled Harry's face tenderly in his hands, then pointed to the pile of children's toys in the middle of the room and said, "Those have got to go. We're losing our living room!"_

_Harry burst out laughing, and Draco glared at him sternly. "They're just kids, Draco," Harry said in apology, and Draco sighed._

"_You're right, but that doesn't mean that I have to like the mess," Harry nodded in agreement, and they quickly went back to their heated snog. _

"_Oooooh," Harry and Draco broke apart swiftly, their lips red and swollen, and jerked their heads in the direction in which the noise had come from. There stood Becca, Andrew in tow, her arms stuffed with toys. Her green eyes were sparkling joyously, and she was grinning widely. _

"_Daddy and Papa, sitting in a tree! K-I-S….er…LMNOP! First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a baby!" she crowed in a sing-song voice. "I want another brother," she stated boldly as she stepped into the room, dragging Andrew along behind her. "Brothers are fun."_

_Harry and Draco shared a smile before they pulled apart completely. "Maybe you'll get another brother some day," Harry said thoughtfully. _

_Draco just smirked to himself as he left the room. _


End file.
